


Mystery Inc's Reluctant Werewolf

by Bluewolves77



Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types, Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Anxiety, Asexual Character, Autism Spectrum, Domestic Fluff, Eating because Shaggy and Scooby, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Mystery Gang is Shaggy's pack, Mystery solving, Team as Family, werewolf problems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26081440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolves77/pseuds/Bluewolves77
Summary: Set in an alternate universe where the spell Shaggy read in Reluctant Werewolf did not cure his lycanthropy, but only suppressed it for a few years. When he once again became a werewolf, a more traditional one that only changes during the full moon, the gang completely supported him and they all just continued their lives as normal. Or at least as normal as living with a werewolf can be.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 34





	1. Truths

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU I created since I've yet to see it anywhere. I love Werewolf Shaggy and really wanted to write about him. I'm hoping to write a lot of chapters dealing with Mystery Inc's everyday life. If anyone has any ideas for a chapter let me know in the comments and I can see if I can get to it. Thank you and enjoy the first of many chapters to come.

Third-person POV

There were two things Velma had always been absolutely sure of in her whole life. One; the supernatural was not real and everything could be explained scientifically and Two; Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo were her best friends and she would do anything for them just as she knew they would do the same for her. These had always been things she had never doubted ever since she had met the gang as children. At least they had been until a year ago. Now only one of those beliefs stayed true.  
The bespectacled women sighed as she finished added her most recent update to the Mystery Incorporated web-sight. Making sure to describe every last detail about last night's mystery. Or at least most of the details. Mysteries falling on the full moon always made writing on her blog more difficult. Since she had to describe every step of the mystery-solving process without giving away one of her best friend's....condition.  
Removing her glasses to rub her tired eyes, Velma stifled a large yawn as the sound of footsteps entered the kitchen. Quickly putting her glasses back on she glanced at the kitchen doorway to find the subject of her thoughts. Shaggy walked across the tiled floor towards the fridge. His ears swiveling subtly in her direction while his eyes stayed on their destination. Velma was quick to notice that a certain Great Dane was nowhere to be seen.  
“Where's Scooby?” She found herself asking while leaning her chin on her hands tiredly. It was odd to not see the canine with Shaggy, especially during nights of the full moon. The werewolf paused his fridge rummaging and looked up over the door. His red eyes easily finding the shorter female sitting at the table.  
“Like, he's already asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake him. He's still tired from all the running yesterday.” Velma hummed at the answer before letting out another yawn. “Looks like you should be hitting the hay too.”  
“I'll go to bed in a minute after I finishing updated the site.” Shaggy let out a thoughtful noise before going back to find a late-night snack. Velma went back to work and finished up her telling of the unmasking while ignoring the clutter of dishes in the background. After another fifteen minutes, she saved her progress and shut the laptop with a quiet click. Stretching her hands above her head she turned her attention back to Shaggy and found the other had migrated to the opposite end of the table with a plate piled with habanero chicken wings. Velma found herself staring at the male across from her. Even though it had already been a year since the gang had discovered that Shaggy was a werewolf it still baffled her to see her long time friend looking so different. Even if the physical differences weren't surprising enough the sight of seeing Shaggy Rogers, the known vegetarian, eating chicken wings was defiantly bizarre. Velma remembered how upset the other had been when he found out that being a werewolf also meant developing a temporary craving for meat and distaste for vegetables. It had taken months for the others to convince him that not eating for three nights was not healthy for someone with his metabolism and that eating meat those nights was something he didn't have to feel guilty about. She noticed that Shaggy still looked unhappy eating the chicken wings, but he was eating them regardless. The sight made Velma smile sleepily.  
“Are you going to try and sleep too?” She asked as the other licked a little sauce from his claws.  
“I'll try in a while.” Shaggy sighed while eating another wing. Another thing they discovered about being a werewolf was insomnia. Velma's smile fell at the reminder.  
“Do you want me to stay up with you for a little longer?” She asked giving her friend a worried look. It wasn't uncommon for one of the gang to stay up late to keep Shaggy company. Though usually, it was Scooby since the dog was incredibly protective of his closest friend.  
“No, you look like you're going to fall asleep at the table. Like, I'll be fine.” Shaggy had finished off the last of the chicken wings and was now placing the dish in the sink behind her. Velma turned to watch the other in silence before standing from her seat with another yawn. She hated leaving the other alone all night, but she knew that he was right about her falling asleep. She could barely keep her eyes open as it was. She made her way over to the werewolf and standing on her tiptoes she pet his head between the now backward-facing ears.  
“Goodnight Shaggy.” The other turned around with a pout on his muzzle, but the tail wagging behind him gave away his true feeling on the sign of affection.  
“Like, don't do that.” At his complaint, Velma just laughed before beginning to walk away towards the stairs.  
Sure, only one of Velma's absolute beliefs no longer was true, but the remaining one wasn't shaken one bit. She would do anything for her friends, no matter what they turned into. After all, you didn't spend almost a year researching everything you could about werewolves for just anyone.


	2. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Real Friends will stay by you even in the worst times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter for you. Hope you enjoy:3

Shaggy POV

I had been an anxious person from a young age so it was no surprise that my friends had become quite good at calming me down in their own ways. Ask anyone and they would tell you that Fred wasn't the best at picking up most social ques, but his ability to read emotions was almost supernatural. He could immediately tell when someone was upset and would do whatever it took to cheer them up. Whether it was helping them fix the problem or just lending an ear to listen to all their frustrations. He was also the most physically affectionate of the gang and would often show support with a gentle hand on the shoulder or a strong hug.  
Daphne was almost the opposite of Fred. She was defiantly better at picking up social cues, but her ability to pick up on subtle emotion was lacking. Usually, it took big displays of sadness or anger to get her to act, and even then she wasn't the best at listening to problems and would get uncomfortable. Daphne's way of helping was a distraction. When she noticed I was anxious about something she would start talking about seemingly pointless things such as what fashion was in that week or what crazy hobby she had picked up that month. Eventually, I would forget what it was I was so anxious about in the first place.  
Velma was not what one would call coddling. She was honest and straight forward. Tackling any problem head-on with the most obvious solution. Unfortunately, emotions couldn't be handled like a hard math equation or a broken computer. Emotion was something unseen and often messy so Velma grew uncomfortable very quickly when dealing with emotional people. So most people thought she was cold and uncaring, but surprisingly she was the best when it came to talking me down from panic. Panic attacks were horrible. They made your brain believe that you were in mortal danger and you felt like you were dying. Velma did not give empty words of comfort and instead described what was happening in scientific detail. Having her describe that what was happening was actually chemicals in the brain responding to danger in a way that had developed over millions of years suddenly made the whole thing less scary.  
Then there was Scooby Doo. No one could read me as well as my best friend. Sometimes the other would know I was going to have an anxiety attack even before it hit. Making sure to keep skin contact with me until I came back to myself. Just the simple touch of a dog could be the most comforting feeling in the world.

The day I transformed back into a werewolf was one of the worst for me emotionally. We were all piled onto the living room couch having our usual weekly movie night. It had been Daphne's turn to pick and she had chosen something romantic that I could hardly remember. We had been about an hour into the movie when a strange feeling came over my body. Almost like I was breaking into a cold sweat. Trying to ignore it I shifted in my seat a little before turning back to the screen. After another five minutes, the feeling grew into a full-body shudder before the sound of Daphne gasping caused me to jolt up. Looking over I found the redhead staring at me wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open as if she wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. Glancing around I found the others were also staring at me in shock, all except Scooby who was sleeping on the floor by my feet. I didn't understand what it was I did that had upset the other so I went to ask only for my eyes to fall to my hands. Or at least what should be my hands. At the sight of the horribly familiar claws, I instantly jumped from my seat, only to trip over the still slumbering Great Dane at my feet. I fell to the floor beside the couch and this gave me a clear view of my transformed feet and then suddenly I wasn't in the living room anymore. I was back at the drive-in being chased by an angry mob. Yelling monster as they chased me down. Faces full of disgust and hate all while still screaming monster monster Monster! Now my friends saw me like this. They had all looked horrified at me. I never wanted them to see me like this. To show those same expressions, to also call me monster monster monster! They were going to leave me and never come back. How could they want to be near a monster! A monster. A monster! Why did my chest hurt so much? Everything felt painful and numb at the same time. Someone was saying something, but it was hard to hear over the sound of ocean waves. They were talking again. Who was talking? They were yelling. Please don't yell at me. I'm not a monster. I don't want to hurt anyone. Please don't call me a monster!  
Someone grabbed my wrists and I jerked at the touch as a startled gasp forced its way out my throat. Someone was talking again. Another touch came only this time it was a large weight on my legs that had my eyes snapping open. When had I closed my eyes? My vision was swimming and my chest still hurt. There was talking again and this time some words were making it through the waves. It sounded like my name. Oh...someone was calling for me. The hands gripping my wrists suddenly moved to my shoulders and this was when the familiar sound of Fred's voice finally cut through the waves in my ears. He was telling me to breathe. My brain felt like cotton and it took me a moment to realize that this was the reason my chest hurt. I was hyperventilating. I was having a panic attack. No wonder my vision was swimming since I was probably close to passing out. Forcing myself to take a couple of slow deep breathes I found the pain lessening, but the feeling of pure terror remained in my chest. As soon as my vision cleared enough I reluctantly looked up to find that the large weight that had been on my legs the whole time was Scooby. His head was draped over my upper thighs as he stared up at me with concern. The hands still grasping my shoulders were Fred's and the blond was kneeling on the floor to my left. I stared at his hands for what was probably too long in bafflement. The first time I had transformed into a werewolf my girlfriend at the time Googie, though she said she loved me, had avoided all unnecessary physical contact while I was in this form. Yet here Fred was touching me like it was no big deal. Looking passed the blond I found Daphne who was busy talking about something that I couldn't quite focus on yet since she was going so fast. She was smiling, but I could tell it was forced. Velma stood to Daphne's left and was saying something as well, but a lot of her words were long and unfamiliar like something out of a physics textbook. This was the moment my brain decided to jump back online that's when everything it clicked. My friends hadn't run away from me in fear. They weren't screaming that I was a monster or demanding I leave. No, instead they were doing what they always did when I freaked out. Trying to calm me down as if everything was normal. As if I was just their usual human friend Shaggy Rogers.  
I felt the tears escape before I let out a choked sob at the realization that my friends had stayed. They were trying to help me feel better even though I had turned into a monster in front of their eyes. Fred was quick to pull me into a tight embrace at the first sight of tears and I desperately held back afraid that this was just a dream and I would wake up alone. Soon another two pairs of arms joined us in the huddle. The first pair were much gentler than Fred's hold and smelled of Daphne's vanilla-jasmine perfume that immediately engulfed my now much more sensitive nose. The second pair were so awkward in how they seemed to be trying to find the right place to fit in the three-person hug that it couldn't be anyone but Velma. I continued to cry while all the others went perfectly silent.  
I wasn't sure how much time went by before my tears gave away to pure exhaustion. The panic attack now nothing more than sore quivering muscles and a headache. At my lack of sobs, the other three finally pulled away from the hug while Scooby remained a comforting weight on my legs.  
“Rou Rokay Raggy?” Somehow I mustered up a small smile before patting the dog on the head gratefully. In reality, I didn't feel okay in the slightest, but I didn't want to worry the other any more than I already had.  
“I'm better than earlier.” I sighed before movement caught my attention. Daphne and Velma were making their way to the kitchen while Fred was now standing and offering a hand out to me.  
“Come on Shag, let's go to the kitchen and make you some tea.” The thought of my mother's special made de-stressing tea sounded heavenly right now and I slowly took the blond's hand being cautious of my newly acquired claws. Scooby hoped up from my lap as the blond easily pulled me to my feet. I stood there a moment getting a feel for my still shaky legs before the two of us made out way to the kitchen entryway. I hung back after Fred unsure of what was going to happen in there. My friends didn't seem hysterical right now, but that didn't mean they were still comfortable with the idea of living with a werewolf. With a deep breath, I dragged my feet across the floor and took a seat at the table. Fred had already taken a seat to my right with Scooby on the floor in between while Daphne sat on the other side. Eventually, Velma made her way to the seat across from mine after setting an over-sized steaming mug in front of me on the table. Carefully I lifted the cup and took a slight sip of the caramel-colored liquid. The taste was as wonderful as always. Of course, all of Mom's homemade teas were.  
I had expected the questioning to start as soon as we all were seated, but was surprised that a few minutes past in silence with only the loud ticking sound of a clock to be heard. Or maybe it was just me and my newly re-acquired sensitive hearing. After another minute I began to nervously tap the tip of my claw on the rim of the now almost empty cup of tea. This seemed to finally prompt someone to begin speaking.  
“This is so Bizarre.” Daphne eloquently stated and this seemed to break the ice that had frozen over the room. I then told them the whole story. Being turned into a werewolf and then kidnapped by Dracula. How I was unable to return to human form and was forced to race fore my freedom and even after winning almost not being able to leave. Then about the spell that was supposed to break the curse, but apparently hadn't worked.  
“So monsters are real then. All this time we've just been lucky that the crooks we have caught were human?” Fred voiced before Velma spoke up with her face buried in her hands.  
“I can't believe this. There has never been solid proof of the supernatural existing. How am I supposed to go back to scientific study knowing that magic actually exists?”  
“I thought it would take longer to convince you.” Daphne admitted and this caused the bespectacled young women to sigh heavily.  
“It's hard to convince myself that magic doesn't exist when I have a werewolf sitting across from me.” At the mention of my new form, I found myself sinking down into the chair. Being seen like this still made me uncomfortable. Scooby's paw placed itself on my knee in a comforting manner and I couldn't help smiling at the gesture.  
“Shaggy do you still have the Grimmness Book of Records?” Velma asked and I looked at her in confusion.  
“Yeah, like, it's somewhere up in the attic.” at my reply the short brunette stood from the chair and started making her way towards the stairs. “Where are you going?”  
“Knowledge is power and now that I know that the supernatural is real I am severely lacking in that department. That book probably will tell us why you suddenly turned back into a werewolf and if we can reverse it again.” As she left the kitchen, leaving the rest of us in another awkward silence, Scooby grabbed our attention with a fake cough.  
“Can Re Rake a Snack Rhile we Rait?” My smile returned at my best buddies request and I stood up from the table with a long stretch.  
“Like, sure thing pal.” Even to myself, I sounded tired, which wasn't surprising with how bad that panic attack earlier had been. Still keeping my hands busy sounded better than working myself into a nervous wreck while sitting in silence. I had just finished preparing Scoob a three-decker sandwich when Velma returned to the room carrying the dusty Grimmness Book of Records. Already quickly reading the pages as she walked.  
“So it says here that the spell Shaggy used last time wasn't actually a cure, but a suppressant. One that will wear off slowly over time.”  
“Then can't he just read the spell again and look human?” Fred questioned. Velma set the book onto the table for everyone to see. Scoob and I made our way back over to the group.  
“Unfortunately, no he can't. The spell can only be cast once and then it has to be renewed every so often to keep it working. Once the spell wears off that's it.” I felt my heart sink at Velma's words. There was no way to cure me. I was stuck like this. Just as Dracula had wanted. What was I going to do? Last time I never changed back to human even during the day so how was I going to continue to live in Coolsville? Another flash of the Drive-in mob shouting monster ran through my mind.  
“Shaggy, stop that?” Velma's stern words snapped me from my thoughts.  
“Stop what?” I asked unsure of what she was talking about.  
“Even without the newly added giveaway of those drooping ears, I can practically hear your negative thoughts from here.” I felt my face begin to burn at my anxious thoughts being called out and the casual mention of my now animalistic ears. A hand found its way to my shoulder.  
“Yeah Shag, don't worry. Everything will be fine.” Fred smiled encouragingly. I doubted it but didn't argue with him.  
“He's right. I read a little more and it looks like the reason you stayed in werewolf form all the time before was because of the moon dust that was sprinkled on you. So you should change back into human form as soon as the sun rises.” I breathed a sigh of relief at the news and Scooby waged his tail happily. At least until the sound of an alarm going off caused the two of us to jump with Scooby jumping into my arms.  
“Wow, it's already 10. We have to hurry and finish the movie.” Daphne grinned as she quickly rose from her seat.  
“Like, but what about....?” My words were swiftly cut off.  
“Shaggy no more serious conversation tonight. We are all going to sit back on the couch and watch the rest of my movie.” Before I could make another valid argument I was already being hauled out of my chair by the overly excitable redhead and pushed into the middle of the couch. Daphne was quick to squish me in between her and Fred while Velma joined on the other side of Daphne. My whole body tensed at the close proximity for a moment before slowly relaxing from the combined heat of their bodies. They really didn't care if we touched while I looked like this. A pleasant warmth spread through my chest as the familiar weight of Scooby's back pressed against my legs and the movie resumed playing on the TV screen. Our troubles weren't over. There was still a lot we needed to talk about in the morning. Right now though, surrounded by friends who showed nothing but love and support for me, I thought that maybe things will work out somehow.


	3. Harvest Moons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that if anyone has any ideas for chapters they want to see written you can comment them below. Also, I have an Amino where you can see what Shaggy looks like as a werewolf if you are curious:3  
> https://aminoapps.com/c/scooby-doo-amino/home/

Chapter 3: Full Moons  
Daphne paused as she walked past the entryway to the living room confused by the sight she was seeing. Shaggy was in his full wolf form practically dwarfing the couch he was laying on with Scooby laying across his back asleep. After a moment of her staring the werewolf's ear flickered in her direction before his gaze followed. Red eyes staring pathetically at his friend. The redhead couldn't help but find it unusual to see Shaggy like this. She could only think of three times when she had seen him a full werewolf. He had told them all repeatedly how much he hated being in this form since it's when he looks the most like a monster. There was also the fact that it was easier for him to be controlled by instinct while like that. So typically the only times Daphne had seen it was when they were in life-threatening danger or when Shaggy was extremely angry. None of which were the case right now.  
“Hey Shaggy, why do you look like that?” Daphne finally asked as she walked into the living room and took a seat in the chair beside the over-stuffed couch. The other just huffed in annoyance before rolling over and starting to pet Scooby's head, careful of his much larger claws.  
“Like, apparently the harvest moon is much stronger than normal full moons. This means I'm stuck like this for the next three nights.” Shaggy's voice sounded much more rough and animalistic in this form and it threw Daphne for a moment before she quickly schooled her expression.  
“Did Velma read that in the book?” She questioned and this caused Shaggy's frown to grow. So that was a yes. Daphne knew how much it upset her friend to look like this and for the next three nights he was being forced into it. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done about a werewolf's transformation. Wolf's bane could hold it off for a while, but that was only before the change took place. One he switched forms Wolf's Bane just made him ill so either way for at least tonight he would have to endure it until sunrise. Honestly, Daphne didn't mind Shaggy's full werewolf form as much as she had originally. The first time the gang had witnessed this unexpected transformation it certainly was quite shocking. After that, it was easier for them to see Shaggy under all the fur and sharp teeth. Though his eyes were now red they still had that almost puppy-dog innocence to them. His mane was still the same honey brown as his human hair and his mannerisms had not changed much either. After the first time where Shaggy had ripped most of his clothes to shreds due to his vastly increased size, Daphne had taken it upon herself to tailor him new clothes made of extremely stretchable fabric. So now he could still wear his favorite green shirt and red bell-bottoms. Unfortunately, his shoes were a lost cause. They haven't yet created shoes shaped for digitigrade legs, but that isn't stopping Daphne from creating them at some point. She has the money so why not use it to make her friends happy.  
The sound of Scooby's loud snore broke the tense silence of the room and Daphne watched relieved as Shaggy's muzzle finally formed a smile while he began scratching behind the Great Dane's ear. None of them could stand to see Shaggy unhappy so they had all worked hard to make his new way of life as easy as possible despite the other's arguments about not being a bother to them. Honestly, how could they not help to make their friend happy when they knew very well that the beatnik would do anything for them if they needed it. Something he had shown time and time again when helping them through mysteries even when he was scared out of his mind. Shaggy was just that kind of person. Putting the people he cared about before himself when the situation called for it. So it was kind of funny when he thought that the rest of them wouldn't return the favor.  
“You know Fred's dad just sent over a giant package of deer meat from his last hunting trip.” Daphne smirked as Shaggy's ears perked up and his tail noticeably began to wag even with his face contorting into a conflicted expression.  
“I don't know...”  
“Shag we talked about this. There is nothing wrong with eating when you're hungry. No matter what it is you need. Honestly, I prefer you eating raw meat then half the weird concoctions you come up with.” At Daphne's words, the other looked up seemingly offended.  
“I'll have you know that chocolate, marshmallow, and chili burgers are freaking amazing!” The werewolf definitely did not pout as the purple wearing redhead laughed her way towards the kitchen.


	4. Three Times Shaggy Went Full Werewolf Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These are the three times Shaggy transformed into his hated full werewolf form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long one for everyone since It's technically three short stories in one. Hope you all enjoy:3

The first:

The first time Shaggy had turned into his full wolf form had been when the gang had come to investigate Moonscar Island. The beatnik had already been on edge considering that the full moon was set to begin tonight and he had argued vehemently about coming after the full moon was over, but the whole gang had pointed out that Lena only came to the mainland every so often and if they didn't go then who knew when they would get another chance. They also assured him that they would take every precaution so that nobody would see him in his werewolf form. Eventually the other had reluctantly given in and they had followed the Cajun women out to her island.  
For a while, everything seemed to be going alright, besides the random ghost attracts that is. Until Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Beau were captured and about to have their life force drained by insane cat people. The four desperately were trying to move away while magically tied up and then a loud screech tore through the air causing the cat women to pause and look up in the direction of the noise.  
“Joque's in trouble!” Lena exclaimed before Simone interrupted.  
“Never mind him, we need to drain their life force while the moon in in the midnight alignment!” the pair once again moved towards their helpless victims and the four braced themselves for their incoming death. Until a spine chilling snarl pierced the air and a large beast tore into the cave and tackled the cat people at full speed. The mystery gang and Beau all stared in fear and shock as the giant wolf placed itself between them and their attackers. Growling and snarling all the while. It had taken Daphne no time to realize that this beast was Shaggy. She instantly noticed the tattered remains of his signature green shirt and red bell-bottoms. It took Velma a little longer to piece this together until she saw Scooby cowering near the entrance of the cave watching the whole scene. Fred was the last to figure it out, but when he did he could only stare.  
The gang watched in concern as their friend acted not like his usual cowardly self but instead glared angrily at the two cat women a few feet away.  
“I've had enough of meddling dogs!” Simone roared as she and Lena began to transform into even more animalistic forms. Then all three beasts pounced in a pile of fangs and claws. Velma quickly noted that their wax dolls were now in reach and grabbed hers with her feet to try and untie it. Daphne, noticing this, called to Scooby who was still hiding away from the scuffle happening.  
“Scooby come over and help us!” The Great Dane finally tore his eyes away from the battle and swiftly snuck over the pair of tied up young adults. Easily tearing through the wax doll's rope with his teeth.  
“What happened Scoob?” Fred asked when they were all free.  
“Rogue rurned rinto a Ronster rand rattacked rus. Rhen Raggy Runed rinto Rhat.” The dog explained with over exaggerated movements.  
“Is he still in control?” Velma hesitantly asked glancing nervously over at the werewolf who swiped at Lena and sent her flying into a nearby wall while Simone jumped on his back clawing at his flesh.  
“Ri Ron't Rnow. Re Ran Raight here.” Fred and Daphne exchanged twin looks of concern before both looking up at the sound of a canine-like whine of pain. Though Shaggy was undoubtedly bigger than the cat women they outnumbered him and he was getting injured just as much as them. There was also the fact that, according to Scooby, he had already fought another of those beasts before coming here. Despite Shaggy looking like this Velma knew that her friend was in danger and she needed to do something. Looking around she saw tattered pieces of Lena and Simone's clothing scattered on the ground near the wax dolls.  
“Look this is a piece of Lena's blouse and Simone's dress. We can use them.” the brunette explained before kneeling on the floor to create something they could use to defeat those monsters. After that things got a little crazy. With zombies appearing, them using the newly clothed wax dolls to control the cats, and Shaggy held off the newly arrived transformed Joque. Eventually, though time ran out for the three cat people and they all disintegrated as the moon moved out of the midnight alignment. After a couple of moments in stunned silence what finally broke it was the sound of a painful whimper. All five of the others in the cave looked up to find Shaggy, still in his full wolf form, licking at several slash and bite marks on his arms. As Daphne slowly ventured closer the injured beast looked up and growled a warning. She paused momentarily in fear that her friend might attack her until she looked into his eyes and found the feeling melting away. She could still see Shaggy in there. Even if his gaze was more animalistic she knew he was still in enough control to not hurt her. She ignored the continuous snarling and cautiously walked up to the werewolf.  
“It's alright Shaggy. I'm going to help you clean those wounds.” She quietly promised while taking a travel-sized first aid kit from her jacket pocket. The wolf stared at her for a long time before his growling slowly ceased and pained whines took their place. Daphne gave her friend a gentle smile before producing a large disinfecting wipe from the kit and beginning to wipe some of the blood away from the biggest wounds. Eventually, the other three members of the mystery gang joined her in helping the injured werewolf. Scooby being quick to nuzzle up to his owner with a worried puppy dog stare. In the background, Beau just watched the scene and wondered how he even got into this mess.

The second:  
“Shaggy, those aliens are Crystal and Amber!” Hearing Daphne's yell form across the cave both Scooby and Shaggy exchanged doubtful looks.  
“Like, what are you talking about?” this time it was Velma who yelled.  
“Look at them!” At her suggestion they both did take a second closer look at the aliens now fighting for their lives against a greedy scientist and his forklift. This time Shaggy saw it. The familiar peace sign shaped pendant that he had grown so familiar with in the last couple days. As well as a pair of eyes that gazed at him in both fear and desperation.  
“Shaggy help!” This time Scoob and he tensed up in surprise.  
“Zoinks, like those are the girls.” As the realization came Shaggy began to feel a familiar heat beginning to burn in his chest, but at the moment he couldn't find it in him to care. Crystal was in danger. Before he could even think the male was already sprinting towards the forklift without notice of his body shifting and growing to a much larger and dangerous form. At the sight of the giant wolf beast heading for her colleague, Laura paused in her attempt to free her other accomplices.  
“Steve, Look out!” Before the other could react though Shaggy had already tackled the machine at full strength. Sending it flying several hundred feet away upside down. Somehow Steve wasn't injured and crawled from the wreckage. At the sight, Shaggy let out a vicious growl as he now ran for the scientist. His thoughts clouded over in both anger and protectiveness. How dare this weakling try to hurt Crystal and Amber. To sell them and turn them into a freak show attraction like some kind of animal. How dare he try to get rid of his friends. He would destroy him and never let him hurt his pack again! As he finally grew close enough to silence the one who had dared try and hurt....Scooby was suddenly there. Standing on his hind legs with paws held out in front of him like a barrier. Shaggy couldn't help releasing a frustrated snarl at his canine pack mate before standing at his full intimidating 8-foot height. Though shaking violently the Great Dane didn't move an inch. Why was he stopping him? This man almost hurt Crystal and Amber and their pack. He deserved to be punished. To be destroyed.  
“Raggy Rop! Rystal and Ramber are Rafe!' Scooby's words felt distant and lost among the onslaught of raging thoughts of revenge and protectiveness still clouding the werewolf's mind at the sight of Steve still trembling terrified on the ground. Even now though he could never bring himself to hurt his best friend and made no move to shove the dog out of the way. No matter how irritating and confusing his actions were.  
“Out of the way Scoob!” The werewolf snarled his voice coming out rough and feral between growls. Scooby Doo flinched at the sound but still didn't move.  
“No Raggy!” he growled back in defiance before others joined his side almost blocking the view of Steve on the ground.  
“Shaggy, you need to calm down. This isn't what you really want.” Daphne urged holding up her hands in a similar way to Scoob's. As if she was talking down an out of control animal. The sight finally tickled something in his brain. Enough that he stopped snarling at his pack. They were in danger. Why were they defending Steve when he tried to hurt them? When he could still hurt them. He needed to protect his pack and they were stopping him. His friends needed to be safe. With a grunt of frustration Shaggy began to pace the floor in a stalking manner. Never taking his eyes off the scientist hiding behind his pack until another voice finally broke through the tense atmosphere.  
“Shaggy, it's alright.” at the sound of Crystal's mellifluous tone the werewolf's head finally snapped away from its prey towards the now human-looking alien. At the sight of his mate Shaggy's angry glare smoothed over and his ears pinned back upset. The angry haze over his mind clearing into guilt and horror at what he had been about to do. Frantically looking at all the people still staring at him in variations of fear and caution the werewolf took off running further into the cave. Ignoring the worried calls behind him. He ran for an unknown amount of time before finally being forced to stop at the edge of a drop-off. Tears began to stream down his muzzle before his form began to shrink down into his more humanoid werewolf shape. How was he ever going to face the gang again? How was he going to face Crystal after what he had just tried to do? Fear lodged itself in both his chest and throat as a choked out sob echoed throughout the cavern. He could feel his body trembling uncontrollably and knew that if he didn't calm down an anxiety or possibly a panic attack was going to take over, but right now he couldn't stop his racing thoughts or his crying. His whole life he had hated violence. It made him uncomfortable and he avoided conflict as much as possible. Now that he was a werewolf though this had been the second instance where his body had instinctively gone to attack danger instead of run away from it. No matter how much his human half despised the idea. Shaggy couldn't help think that what if one day he completely lost himself and hurt those he cared about most. It was a fear he was no stranger to ever since Dracula had forcefully placed this curse of him years ago. After all, every werewolf the beatnik had every run into had been a violent out of control beast. Daphne included. So what made him any different? Velma had repeatedly told him that according to the Grimmness Book of Records since he had become a werewolf naturally due to his bloodline that it was different from those who were cursed into it. Curses were meant to be hurtful and cause a lack of control where his body was meant to be a werewolf and thus he had just as much control as he did as a human. Right now though he couldn't find any comfort in those words. What kind of control did he have if he was going to attack anyone that tried to hurt his friends? Shaggy buried his tear-soaked face into his arms while holding his legs as tightly as possible. He didn't want to hurt anyone. Never wanted to turn into a monster. He was frightened of himself.  
A pair of hands placing themselves on his shoulders caused the werewolf to jump with a breathless gasp before he found Crystal kneeling beside him. Looking him over with brown eyes filled with worry.  
“Hey.” she said quietly taking his hands in hers gently.  
“Crystal....I'm..” Shaggy's words were cut off with a choked sob and the other quickly brought her friend into a tight hug. Feeling his labored breathing and rapid heartbeat against her chest while his tears stained her top. Seeing her Shaggy in this state broke her heart and she held on even tighter in response.  
“It's alright Shaggy. You didn't do anything wrong. You were just protecting us and that's nothing to be ashamed of.” Her voice was soothingly soft as she began to run her right hand through his fur and over his pinned back ears. Shaggy only continued to cry at her comforting touch while his trembling frame calmed down just the slightest bit. It seemed a millennia before the werewolf ultimately tried speaking again.  
“I'm sorry. I..I didn't want to hurt anyone.” Crystal slowly pulled away from her embrace so she could look her love in the face. Taking notice that his eyes were now a vibrant red, but no less gentle than she normally saw them.  
“Shaggy, sometimes you have to do what is necessary to protect those you love. Violence should always be a last resort, but occasionally there is no other choice. I've only known you a short time, but I knew for certain that you would never hurt anyone if you had the choice.”  
“I didn't have a choice though. I was about to hurt someone and I didn't care! What if one day I completely lose myself?” At Shaggy's emotional outburst Crystal gripped his claws between hers and gave him a serious stare.  
“That won't happen.”  
“You don't...”  
“That won't happen. You are the most groovy guy I've ever met Shaggy and your gentle heart and spirit are too strong to ever fall to animalistic instinct. Everyone in the universe has those instincts deep down no matter what they are. It's knowing when to let them out at the right time that makes you strong. Only the weak and greedy let themselves fall to such a level and you are neither of those things.” Shaggy could only gaze in awe at the beautiful women still clasping his hands. Who's eyes held no doubt that she truly believed that he could never become the monster he feared. With one last sniff Shaggy wiped the last of his tears away with his arm and finally noticed that he was still not in his human form. He suddenly felt self-conscious that the woman he loved was seeing him such a state.  
“You don't mind that I look like this?” He hesitantly asked and this caused Crystal to chuckle before placing a brief kiss on the other's muzzle.  
“You are adorable no matter what form you take. Do you think I'm ugly in my real form?” At her reply, Shaggy instantly straightened up and threaded his claws with her slim fingers.  
“Of course I don't! You are the most beautiful person I've ever met!” Crystal's smile softened into something so full of love that Shaggy's breath caught and his heart that had just calmed down from his earlier panic sped right back up again. Honestly, how could he have not figured out that she was an alien? For something so magnificent and perfect could never exist from this world. At this moment his chest was brimming with so much emotion he couldn't do anything else but kiss her and hope that somehow he could convey everything he was feeling since he had never been the most eloquent with words. When they ultimately had to pull away they just looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Crystal finally broke the silence.  
“We should get back to your friends. They're really worried about you.” With a sigh, Shaggy accepted his love's offered hand and together they stood from the dirty cave floor. As they began walking Crystal spoke again with a smile.  
“You're lucky to have such great friends.” Shaggy's face broke out into its own gentle affectionate grin.  
“Yeah, like, I really am.”

The Third  
Most of the time when Shaggy was in his human form there was nothing that gave away of his inhuman nature. He hid his heightened senses very well and he had never been one to show off any athletic skill to others. So any abnormal feats of strength or speed generally went unnoticed. Unfortunately when you are hypnotized to feel brave, confidence, heroic, powerful, and unstoppable whenever you heard a keyword that's when problems came.  
Having Shaggy single-handedly take down an entire gang of bikers was definitely not considered normal for someone his size, but everyone who had seen just choked it up to being good agility and weight distribution. Which was a relief to the gang once they heard of what happened. Being able to drive a motorcycle up a cliff and jump it over a ledge before then saving a man twice his size from falling over a cliff was a little less explainable. Thanks to a surprise attack by the phantosaur though this too was not questioned by anyone. When they were trapped in a tunnel system about to be caved in by multiple explosions is when someone finally questioned Shaggy's inhuman abilities. Dr. Svankmajer brought it up after Shaggy had scaled the rocky walls to the ceiling and started kicking stalagmites down into the pit of snakes below.  
“How is he able to do that. The amount of force needed to crack those stalagmites is something a person of his size shouldn't be able to accomplish.” The gang just looked at each other before decided not to answer. After all, what feasible excuse could they come up with on the spot that would fool the highly intelligent women? They just hoped that she and Weston would forget about it by the time they escaped.  
Unfortunately, there was no logical excuse they could give that would explain Shaggy turning into a giant 8-foot tall werewolf to jump over a river, climb up a rock wall and then make it towards a hole in the ceiling. The gang all groaned at the headache this hypnotism was causing. A fearless Shaggy was also a reckless Shaggy and that wasn't good news when they were trying to keep his true species a secret. Ignoring the gaping Weston and Dr. Svankmajer behind her, Velma placed both hands on the sides of her mouth to holler at the wolf that had almost made it to the escape hole.  
“Shaggy, you can't go out there looking like that!” At her echoing warning, Shaggy's ears flickered back to show that he had heard before his gaze followed.  
“Like, I'm trying to save your butts Dinkley!” The hypnotized Shaggy replied in frustration which only resulted in the other giving an unimpressed look.  
“Shaggy if anyone else sees you in this form it will be bad!” Suddenly the werewolf's body tensed before a look of fear took over his features. Almost instantly his body began to shrink until normal human Shaggy was left. He gave an apologetic look to his friends before finally climbing through the hole to freedom.  
“I swear we are getting him back to normal as soon as we get out of here.” Daphne sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose.  
“I agree.” Velma grumbled and then turned back to Dr. Svankmajer and Weston who still had identical looks of shock on their faces. Fred just awkwardly laughed while rubbing the back of his neck.  
“Don't suppose you could keep this a secret, would you?”


	5. Daphne's Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter with Daphne being rescued by Shaggy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter. I will try to make the next one longer:3

Daphne let out a pained hiss as she tried to put weight on her injured leg. She wasn't sure whether it was broken or not, but she really hoped it wasn't. Her situation was looking worse by the minute. It was getting dark and she was stuck in the middle of a large forest after running away from the bat monster the gang was trying to capture. Her phone was also no help after being broken in the fall that had given her the injured leg. She could only hope that the others would find her soon, but that idea also seemed an unlikely outcome since Scooby had stayed home sick this mystery so they didn't have his keen nose to trace her scent. More than likely she would have to make it through the night without being attacked by animals or even the same monster from earlier. Even worse she would have to miss her skincare routine and sleep in the same clothes she wore all day. The grass and mud stains were never going to come out! With a disgruntled huff, the redhead took off her emergency pack and began digging through hoping to find something to help her out of this situation. He hand grazed over a first aid kit, a couple of granola bars, two bottles of water, an extra shoe and shirt, an emergency make-up kit, and a roll of toilet paper, but no backup cellphone. How did she not think to bring a backup phone? She would have to fix that once she returned home. Feeling hopeless, Daphne started eating one of the granola bars and bottled water. At least she wouldn't go hungry tonight. She finished them in no time and then proceeded to make herself as comfortable as possible. Using the extra shirt as a pillow between her and the ruff bark of the tree behind her. Looks like waiting was her only option.  
Daphne woke to the feeling of someone jostling her shoulder. Causing her to sit up quickly in alarm. It was now too dark for her to see her surroundings and the idea of something she couldn't see touching her set her on edge.  
“Like, are you alright Daphne?” The sound of Shaggy's voice instantly calmed the redhead and she released a heavy sigh of relief.  
“Shaggy, thank goodness it's you. How did you find me?”  
“When we couldn't reach your phone we thought something might have happened to you so I followed your scent.” His answer made Daphne finally notice that she could make out something in the darkness surrounding them. Shaggy's eyes glowing like that of a wolf. She immediately felt guilty in making her friend have to change in order to find her.  
“I'm sorry. I know you don't like transforming.”  
“It's not a big deal. Like, I'm just glad you're safe. “ the werewolf glanced down at his friend's bleeding leg. “Well mostly. Can you walk?”  
“No, it hurts to put weight on it.” Daphne admitted and this caused Shaggy to let out a thoughtful hum in response. Suddenly Daphne was letting out a surprised gasp as she was lifted off the ground and being held against a warm chest. She didn't protest though since she knew there was no other way she was going to get out of this creepy forest.  
“Let's get you home.” Shaggy said as he began making his way in a seemingly random direction. As they made there way Daphne once again marveled at just how warm Shaggy was. The gang had found out shortly after Shaggy's first transformation that werewolves body temperatures ran hotter than humans, around 102 degrees Fahrenheit last they checked. This meant that her friend was like a fuzzy heated blanket while in his werewolf form. Something that Daphne was thankful for right now in this chilly autumn air. Looping her arms around the taller man's neck, the redhead sighed gratefully while resting her head on his chest.  
“Thanks, Shaggy.”  
“No problem.”


	6. Cravings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being a werewolf sometimes means unwanted changes. Good thing Fred knows just how to comfort his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some Fred and Shaggy emotional hurt/comfort :3

Shaggy found out that there were a lot of things about being a werewolf he disliked besides the obvious change in appearance. The first time he had been turned into a werewolf he had been so busy trying to escape Dracula and be cured that he hadn't had time to notice any weird side affects about suddenly changing species. Now though, he had all the time in the world to discover what being a werewolf entailed. After the gang had accepted him as a non-human life seemed to go back to semi-normal in their household. Everyone going back to their usual routines with no questions asked. At least at first.  
Shaggy had been a vegetarian since he was nine years old. Never eating anything with meat in it or even cooked with meat. It wasn't an unusual thing for the gang's kitchen to be bursting with mostly fruits and vegetables for there ever-hungry friend who also happened to do the majority of cooking in the house. It was something that they all had grown used to and expected, which is why the night that Fred walked into the living room to find Shaggy seated on the couch practically in tears while eating a plate of raw burger was so jarring. The blond just stood in the doorway for a moment unsure of what he was witnessing. Then the heartbroken expression on his friend's face registered and he slowly made his way to the couch. Shaggy seemed to shrink into himself at the other's arrival still holding the almost empty plate in his claws. Fred took a seat beside the beatnik and the two just sat there in silence for a while before Shaggy finally broke it with a whisper.  
“I didn't even realize what I was doing until I was halfway done. I just started eating raw meat without even noticing.” Fred could hear the terror in the other's voice as he spoke and this caused him to instinctively slide closer to his friend.  
“Hey, it's alright.” he tried to comfort, but Shaggy just seemed to grow more upset.  
“like, this is not alright! I haven't eaten meat in almost ten years and I never wanted to. Now all of a sudden I'm just eating it without even noticing? What if this gets worse? What if I start going after animals or even people?” The werewolf's voice grew progressively louder and more agitated as he confessed his worries, but Fred just sat in silence and allowed his friend to vent. The blond had been around Shaggy long enough to know that sometimes letting him get it all out first was the best way to help him calm down. Though he had no experience when dealing with werewolf problems he definitely knew his best friend and would help in any way he could.   
It took a few more minutes for Shaggy to finally break down in silent tears. Curling himself into a ball on the couch with his ears pressed flat against his head and his tail tightly wrapped around his legs. Fred took the opportunity to press himself to the other's side and wrap an arm around his shoulders in a hug. Shaggy tensed fearfully at the touch at first, but as always quickly melted into the familiar comforting touch of his best friend. Especially when the muscular blond started petting his head in between his ears.  
“Shag, I can promise you that there is no way you would ever purposely hurt any innocent creature. So what if you had a craving for raw burger meat? It's not the end of the world. We all knew that you being a werewolf was going to mean some changes, but we agreed that we could get through anything together.” as he spoke Shaggy's ears slightly lifted and flickered in the direction of his voice so he knew that his friend was listening. “Craving meat isn't such a weird thing for a werewolf.”  
“I don't want to be forced to eat something I don't want to.” Shaggy finally replied. His voice still soft and filled with sadness.  
“Is it only during the full moon?” Fred inquired.  
“I think so. I didn't crave anything unusual before today.”  
“That's good then. You only have to eat it for three nights then you can go back to your usual diet.” At the suggestion, Shaggy growled in irritation.  
“Like, I feel like a hypocrite. A vegetarian that eats meat isn't a vegetarian. Whether it's only three nights of not.”  
“If it makes you feel better just think of it as a medical need. It's probably not healthy for a werewolf to not eat meat, I mean you are a carnivore now, which is why your body craves it so much when you change.” Funny enough, Fred and Velma had been discussing this briefly a couple of days after they found out about their friend's lycanthropy. The bookworm had questioned aloud if Shaggy was now technically a predator and would need to eat meat, but the one in question seemed to be eating normally after that so they didn't give it another thought. Apparently she had been right. Now their friend was clearly upset about the fact which was understandable since this went against his whole lifestyle.  
“I don't want this.” Shaggy's soft reply reached Fred's ears before he pulled the other into a full-on hug. Thankfully the werewolf returned the gesture and didn't retract from the touch.  
“I know, but you'll get through this. After all, I've never seen a situation you couldn't overcome.” Fred felt a sense of victory when he heard Shaggy's amused huff against his shoulder. That's right. Shaggy would get through this. Especially since Fred knew that he, Daphne, Velma, and Scooby were all going to be by his side the entire time.  
“This doesn't bother you? Like, you aren't disgusted?” The blond just pulled away and once again ruffle the werewolf's head fur until his ears drooped out of reach. Fred sent a glance to the bloody plate a few inches on the coffee table before answering truthfully.  
“Yeah its gross, but I think that about a lot of food you eat so I don't see a difference.” The offended look thrown his way caused Fred to chuckle. Meat or no meat this was definitely the same Shaggy.


	7. Mystery Gone Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes to investigate a seemingly normal mystery about a Goatman attacking people near an old abandoned farm, but things quickly take a serious turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based the Goatman on an existing legend, but this story doesn't necessarily take place where the legend originates. Hope you all enjoy the chapter and leave comments if you like it :3

“I'm not going”  
“Come on Shaggy. We can't solve a mystery without you there.” Daphne urged, but the tallest member of the mystery gang just crossed his arms and huffed in defiance.  
“There's no way you're getting me to go. It's the first night of the full moon and I'd rather not spend the majority of the time hiding in the van.”  
“The place where the Goatman is attacking is a secluded farm. We will be the only ones there so you don't have to hide. It's only for a few hours.” Fred tried to persuade the other only for Shaggy to still looked unhappy with their decision to take this mystery so close to the full moon. Usually, the gang was more careful when selecting mysteries so close to Shaggy's werewolf time, but once someone was attacked they couldn't hold it off anymore.  
“Like, you know I don't like being out in public looking like that. Can't we just wait until Friday when the full moon is over?” Velma instantly replied to her friend's suggestion with a sigh.  
“Someone else might go missing if we wait another three days. Or the person pretending to be the monster might complete whatever it is their doing and get away free. We need to look for clues and you and Scooby have the best track record when it comes to accidentally finding them.”  
“Plus having another with super smell and hearing doesn't hurt either.” Daphne added attracting four identical looks of annoyance. The redhead shrugged sheepishly in response. Shaggy rubbed his hands over his face while grumbling in aggravation. He really didn't want to do this, but Velma had a point. There was no way he wouldn't feel guilty if someone else was attacked or the villain got away. It's just his luck that a crazy person would decide to cause trouble today of all days.  
“If it makes you feel better I'm sure Daphne can get you some kind of disguise so your werewolf form is lest noticeable.” Velma chimed in as Daphne nodded vigorously beside her. Sometimes Shaggy hated that he was such a pushover for those he cared about because he could feel himself giving in. No, this time he was putting his foot down. He wasn't going to some creepy farm haunted by a killer Goatman and that was final. Then Scooby's begging puppy dog face came into view.  
“Please Shaggy, I ron't want to ro ry myself.”

“So according to eyewitnesses, the monster is attacking anyone who enters the farmhouse. It is 7 feet tall and looks like the Goatman from local legends.” Fred explained as all but two of the gang listen in rapt attention. Shaggy and Scooby were in the back looking both scared and unhappy. The human of the two could see through passenger window that the sun was just about setting in the distance and a wave of unease swept through him. How did he always let himself be talked into things he didn't want to do?  
“From my research, I've found that the Goatman was originally a farmer that went mad after his flock was killed. He tried to use an ancient curse to get revenge but instead turned himself into a monster hungry for human blood. In some stories, he has the power to hypnotize his victims before he eats them.” Velma informed and this just increased the werewolf's discomfort with the whole situation.  
“So like just to clarify, we want to go find this thing?”  
“Ri Ron't” Scooby instantly whimpered from Shaggy's lap covering his eyes in fear. Velma turned in her seat so she could look at the two chickens in the back of the van.  
“It's not the real Goatman. I'd bet my favorite microscope on it. All we need to do is look for clues and avoid him.  
“Easy for you to say. You're not the one that always gets attacked by the monster.” Shaggy mumbled as the sun finally dipped below the horizon outside. Changing forms wasn't at all like the movies, which the young adult was massively thankful for. There was no pain or discomfort just a sensation similar to goosebumps and it was over. If he weren't so conscious of it he probably wouldn't even know he had transformed until someone pointed it out. His newly formed wolf ears instantly pinned back in response to his current mood and Scooby gave a pat to his head.  
“I can see the old farm sign from here. We'll be there in a minute.” At Fred's announcement, both Shaggy and Scooby tensed in fear before holding each other for comfort. Why can't the monsters ever haunt somewhere more inviting like an all you can eat pizza joint? Fred pulled up to the decrepit farmhouse and the gang all jumped out of the van. Shaggy now wearing a large beanie hat to hide his ears, a long-sleeved green shirt, and his tail uncomfortably tucked into his pants. Daphne had claimed this would be enough since it was dark even if someone saw him they couldn't make very much out unless they shined a bright light on him. No matter what he dressed in though Shaggy couldn't help feel exposed while out looking like this. He absolutely hated leaving the house during the full moon. With a frown, the werewolf took an instinctual smell of the surrounding air and found an unusual unpleasant odor. Before he could bring it up though Fred began speaking.  
“Alright, Velma and Shaggy you go look around the area while Daphne, Scooby, and I check the house.” The suggestion had Shaggy and Scooby look at him in surprise.  
“Like wait, you're splitting Scoob and I up?”  
“It's logical to have a keen sense of smell in each group.” The explanation didn't help Shaggy feel any better about the plan. Scooby was always his go-to comfort whenever he felt overwhelmed. He hadn't spent one full moon away from his side since his first transformation. The feeling of unease from earlier grew at the prospect of being separated from the Great Dane. A hand on his shoulder caused the werewolf to tense up before looking to find Velma giving him an encouraging smile.  
“It's only for a little bit. I'll be with you the whole time.” Shaggy sighed in defeat before nodding in agreement. He loved all his friends, and they all brought comfort to him, so at least he wasn't going to be alone to look around. After the group split up Shaggy caught another whiff of the bad smell and his nose wrinkled in response.  
“Something the matter?” Velma asked noticing her friend's expression.  
“Something smells really bad, but like I don't know what it is.”  
“What's it smell like?”  
“Kind of like rotten meat mixed with dirt.” Shaggy tried his best to explain and this caused the shorter female to make a humming noise in thought. She hadn't smelled anything yet so whatever the other was smelling must still be a ways away. Whether it was important to why they were here or not was the question.  
“Can you follow the scent to where it's coming from?” Velma asked causing Shaggy to grimace in disgust.  
“Like, do I have to?” The idea of getting closer to the sickening scent was dreadful.  
“It might be important.” Velma pointed out feeling guilty. Based on the way her friend's face contorted in pure disgust told her that the smell must be especially bad. She hated asking him to do something unpleasant when he was already uncomfortable, but if it was something that could get this mystery solved faster than they needed to take it.  
“Alright, I'll follow it. Just don't expect me to get closer to whatever it is than necessary.” Shaggy agreed proceeding to head in a different direction than the one the two had been on. Going deeper into the surrounding woods.  
In the old house, Daphne was checking one of the rooms upstairs when she noticed a trunk tucked away behind a pile of moth-eaten blankets. Almost unnoticeable if not for the corner sticking out in view. The redhead pushed the remaining fabric from the chest before bending down to open it. Inside she found an old book surrounded by black candles, a jar of thick red liquid, several sheets of paper, and a horn of some kind of animal. Trying not to think about what the liquid in the jar might be, Daphne lifted the papers from the chest and began glancing over the slightly messy handwriting. Her heart dropping at what she read before she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Fred's number. The blond picked up after the first ring.  
“Daphne is something wrong?”  
“Fred, I think we have a huge problem.”  
Meanwhile, in the woods, Shaggy and Velma were making their way closer to the awful stench with Shaggy's gag reflex working harder and harder not to react. By now even Velma's human nose was beginning to catch it and she had to agree that it was one of the worst things she had ever smelled in her life. What could smell this strong?  
“Like, I'm going to be sick.” Shaggy groaned as he stopped walking and placed a hand over his nose and mouth. Velma turned to the werewolf in concern about to suggest that they head back when a loud crack pierced through the night air. Both of them jumped at the sudden blast before looking in the direction it originated from.  
“What was that?” Velma asked.  
“I have an idea and I'm not sticking around to verify it.” Shaggy replied in fear before starting back in the direction of the van. Velma barely managing to match his pace so she could grab his arm.  
“Shaggy, wait! We need to see what that noise was.”  
“Are you crazy! I'm pretty sure that was a gun and I'm not going anywhere near that!” He exclaimed pulling his arm from Velma's grip. “We need to leave now.”  
“What if someone needs help?” the other brought up stubbornly not moving. Shaggy was about to argue with his friend when something caused his ears to perk up. A familiar sound of footsteps approaching as well as the cocking of a shotgun barrel. Cold dread overtook him.  
“Velma we need to go now!” Shaggy ordered grabbing his friend's hand and yanking her in the opposite direction back to the farmhouse. He ignored the numerous complaints from the bespectacled woman as his pace grew faster and faster. His ears never straying from the sound of approaching danger. The footsteps were getting closer and Shaggy knew that they needed to go faster or whatever it was would catch them. It was then that his mind noticed that the god awful smell from earlier was growing as well. Guess the source had found them instead of the other way around.  
“Shaggy, what is....” Velma's words were cut off by a chilling monstrous screech penetrating the night. The werewolf didn't think as he scooped his orange sweater-wearing companion in his arms and took off as fast as he could, which in this form was inhumanly quick. Despite this though the larger of their pursuers wasn't falling behind at all.  
“We need to hide!” Velma urged and Shaggy nodded in agreement before looking around for anything to help conceal them both. Then the pain hit with a booming crack. With a yelp, the werewolf lost his footing and both him and Velma began tumbling down a large hill. Hitting every branch and rock on the way down until finally stopping. Velma was the first to push herself up with a groan of pain. Briefly checking to make sure her glasses weren't broken from the fall before turning to her companion who was still collapsed on the ground. It was dark so she couldn't see much more than his silhouette, but even then she knew something was wrong by how rapid his breaths were.  
“Shaggy, are you alright?” All she got in reply was a distressed whimper, which had her quickly scrambling across the space separating them despite her aching body. “Where are you hurt?”  
“S...side.” at Shaggy's shaky response the youngest of the mystery gang used her hands to feel along the side facing her. Her heart jumping in her throat when she felt something wet and sticky under her touch. Shaggy had been shot. Velma's hands began to shake almost as bad as the body underneath her palms as she tried to think of what to do. Call her friends. They needed help. Hiding would be a good idea since she didn't know if their attackers were still chasing them, but moving Shaggy wasn't a good idea without knowing how badly he was hurt. What if he bled out before help arrived? This would be all her fault because she hadn't listened. Why didn't she listen to him when he told her they needed to leave? Why was she so stubborn? Now her friend was hurt and could be dying and it would be all her fault!  
A touch to Velma's shoulder snapped her from her frantic thoughts where she found that she had started crying. Based on the fact she could now see his eye's night shine, Shaggy was now looking at her and had sat up enough that he could place a hand on her shoulder.  
“Shaggy, what are you doing? You need to stay still...” The werewolf cut her off.  
“Velma calm down. I'm going to be fine. The bullets weren't silver.” Shaggy winced several times as he spoke, but he wasn't in agony like a normal person would be after being shot in the side. Velma felt a wave of overwhelming relief when she recalled that werewolves could not be killed by regular bullets since they healed so fast. The fact hadn't even registered in her panic. Despite wanting to laugh at the fact that she had missed something so obvious the brunette instead started to sob. Pulling Shaggy into a hug while being mindful of his still-healing wound. The taller of the two wasting no time in returning the gesture. He could feel Velma still trembling against him and it was times like this that he noticed just how much smaller she was compared to him. Most of the time Velma's personality was so big that you wouldn't even notice her small stature. It was rare for her to show vulnerability since she preferred to be in control of any situation no matter what. When it came to her loved ones being hurt though she lost all emotional control just as most humans would.  
“Like, hey, I'm alright. Why don't we call the rest of the gang and inform the police of the location we found. Obviously it was important if someone felt the need to shoot us over being near it.” Shaggy suggested rubbing comforting circles into his friend's back. Velma just nodded in reply. She was too sore and exhausted to speak at the moment and the idea of going home sounded like the best thing in the world.  
Two phone calls and an hour-long drive later and the gang pulled up to their home. Fred unlocked the front door before Daphne was immediately leading Velma to the couch and guiding her to sit down by the shoulders.  
“Daphne, I don't need...”  
“Yes, you do. Shaggy and Scooby are going to make a giant bowl of Super Shaggy Popcorn, Fred will set up the DVD player, and I'm going to make some tea before we all sit down with a couple of big blankets and cuddle while watching the cheesiest comedy we can find. No arguments.”  
“But I...”  
“Velma, you're not the only one who needs this. We forced Shaggy to go out on the full moon and he got shot. When Fred, Scooby, and I heard the gunshot we were scared you guys were killed. We all need to just be together safe and comfortable for a while.” At the red head's explanation, Velma finally conceded and let herself sink back into the soft cushions of the couch. As promised the rest of the gang completed their tasks and joined their glasses-wearing friend on the couch. Velma noticing that Shaggy no longer had blood on his shirt so he must have changed which she was grateful for. She never wanted to experience that overwhelming despair ever again. Velma hesitantly lifted a hand and began petting the werewolf's head behind his left ear. Shaggy said nothing about this, but his tail began wagging slightly beside her and a smile found its way to the brunette's face. Fred was to Velma's right stealing handfuls of popcorn from the bowl on Shaggy's lap. Daphne sat on the werewolf's right sipping her tea in between laughs from the movie. Scooby laying at Shaggy's feet on his own blanket and bowl of popcorn looking happy and content. All of them thinking the same thing. That their friends were all here and they were safe.


	8. Sick Days (or Shaggy's soup heals all)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated, but work got crazy busy and I had no time to do anything I loved, but I'm hoping to write more starting this week. Here is a small chapter of little drabbles for all of you. The next chapter should be meatier :3

Chapter 8: Sick Days (Shaggy's special chicken noodle soup heals all)

Fred absolutely hated being sick. Everything from allergies to the flu made his life a living hell. He easily felt overwhelmed when faced with something he couldn't control and sitting still for long periods of time drove him stir-crazy. So being stuck in bed all day sounded like the worst type of torture and unfortunately that's where the blond found himself at the moment. Tucked under three heavy blankets, unable to breathe out of his nose and dealing with full-body aches. To his right, his nightstand was covered in both old and new tissues, multiple bottles of water, and a large bottle of generic flu medicine. His bedroom window had been cracked open a little to let some fresh air in and right now Fred could hear cars driving by and the neighbor's pet poodle barking non-stop as it did every morning. The sound was making him want to pound his head into the wall. The only thing stopping him was the pounding sinus headache already digging into his skull. Fred wanted the window closed. It was too bright in here and too noisy and if that dog barked one more time he was going to go over and strangle it. A knock on the door caused the sick young adult to crack his eyes open and peek out from under his blanket pile to find Shaggy standing there with a bed tray and a sheepish smile.  
“Hey, Fred, like I know you like to be alone when you're not feeling good, but I made you some chicken noodle soup and I was hoping you'd at least eat something before you sleep.” Fred's first thought was to deny the offering and bury himself back into his miserable dark cave, but Shaggy's homemade chicken noodle soup sounded amazing right now. With a groan, the blond sat up slowly into sitting position before motioning the other to enter. Shaggy smiled happily before bringing the tray over and setting it onto his friend's covered lap. Fred stared at the tray of soup, oyster crackers, ginger ale, and grapes in amazement before eagerly digging in. The first spoon full tasted heavenly and Fred could already feel his sinuses easing up from the heat.  
“I'll come back in a little bit to collect the dishes.” Shaggy informed before turning to leave. Fred let out a grunt of acknowledgment as his friend walked back out into the hallway while shutting the door. It took no time for Fred to finish and as promised his friend returned for the now-empty dishes.  
“Is there anything else you need?” As Shaggy asked the question he handed Fred a notebook and bright purple pen that could only belong to Daphne. The blond took the note pad and quickly wrote down something before handing it back. Shaggy glanced at the paper before hastily crossing the room to close the window and draw the blackout curtains. Leaving the room in darkness other than the light streaming from the hallway. Fred gave his best friend as much of a smile as he could muster before digging himself back into his blankets.  
“Of you need anything like just send one of us a text.” Shaggy announced before leaving the room with the tray in hand. Fred watched the taller man leave the room before smiling at how lucky he was to have people who care about him.

Daphne had always had a dramatic personality. Always responding to any situation with double the energy whether that be good or bad. So it wasn't really that surprising that when she was sick everyone knew or heard about it. Which is why I found myself stuck next to an oversized purple bed, wearing a face mask and gloves while listening to my friend complaining loudly about how much she hated the flu.  
“It's so not fair! How come I'm the only one who got sick? I feel like I'm dying!” her words immediately were followed by a coughing fit. I rolled my eyes before passing her the glass of water sitting on her nightstand. Daphne gave a thankful nod before taking a large gulp.  
“You're not dying. To answer your question, it's because you insisted on running through a rainstorm to go shopping.” I helpfully reminded her and was met with a disapproving glare in return.  
“Velma, it was the last day for the sale on my favorite brand of makeup. I couldn't pass up on 50% off!” Again followed by another bout of coughing. This time I sighed heavily before patting my friend on her back to help.  
“Then by your logic, this should be worth it.” Another glare had me chuckling before standing from the bed. “Well, I'm going to check on your food. Is there anything else you need me to grab?” Daphne pondered the question for a moment before flopping back onto her overstuffed pillow.  
“Maybe a book or something. Chocolate would be great also.”  
“Got it. Try not to die while I'm gone.” I joked and this caused the redhead to groan while I laughed out the door.  
“I demand a new nurse! Your bedside manner sucks!”  
I entered the kitchen to find Shaggy adding a number of spices to a large steaming pot on the stove. Scooby beside him chopping up what looked to be chicken. I used to question how strange it was to see a dog cooking, but I had long learned to accept seemingly unthinkable feats when it came to our lovable Great Dane. I sometimes find myself thinking how blind I would have continued to be to this world and its mysteries if I hadn't met my friends. It's kind of scary though.  
“How's it coming boys?” I asked to let them know I was here. Even though with their enhanced hearing it was a useless thing to do really, but it was a habit I didn't see the need to break. After all, not every person I talked to was a dog or mythical creature. As expected, neither of them acted surprised to hear my voice.  
“Like it should be ready in another five minutes or so.” Shaggy replied while using a wooden spoon to stir the cooking soup. I took the opportunity to take a seat at the table and relax for a few minutes before heading back to my patient.  
“Daphne has been asking for that soup all morning.” I sighed tiredly and this caused Shaggy to laugh understandably. Everyone in this house knew how the redhead could be sometimes.  
“Once this is done Scoob and I will sit with her for a few hours and let you take a break.”  
“Reah!” Scooby agreed sliding the cooked diced chicken into the waiting broth and noodles.  
“Thanks guys, that would be great. I love Daphne, but even I have a limit to how much drama I can handle in a day. Shaggy and Scooby gave me an understanding smile before continuing their work. I just sat there and watched my best friends and enjoying just how happy they looked. The most relaxed I ever saw Shaggy was when he was cooking and it was always a welcomed sight. Especially after the whole werewolf thing started. The lanky adult had always been anxious, but that had kicked up to an eleven once he transformed for the first time in front of us. The first couple of months had been a learning experience for all of us. I practically had to learn from scratch how to interact with one of my best friends. Werewolves didn't just look different on the outside. They had allergies, weaknesses, and instincts that humans didn't. All of them had been thrown in blind and I shuddered to think how much could have gone wrong if Shaggy hadn't kept the Grimmness Book of Records.  
I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of the burner on the stove being clicked off. Shaggy quickly began ladling the soup into a large purple bowl before loading it, some crackers, and a cup of tea on the bed tray.  
“Good luck.” I threw at the two with a wave. Honestly, a nap sounded great right now. Daphne had been miserable since three in the morning and I was surprised she hadn't fallen asleep yet. With a yawn, I dragged my body out to the living room and collapsed on the couch while shutting my eyes. The feel of something soft laying over me caused me to glance up and find Fred covering me in a small lap blanket. I gave a thankful nod before cuddling back in. That's right, I couldn't imagine what my life would be like without my friends and I never wanted to.

Fred took his time trying to measure out the ingredients as perfectly as possible. The recipe written in messy pen laying beside him on the counter already covered in several finger-shaped stains. Dumping the teaspoon of salt into the small bowl of other spices, he let out a heavy sigh. The blond, despite having gourmet cooks running in his family, wasn't the biggest fan of cooking. It required so much measuring and he had to do so perfectly level or it would bug him for the rest of the day. So this meant it took him twice as long as the others to complete a recipe perfectly. This was why he was usually not the one to cook when they were home. Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice in the matter this time. Velma and Shaggy were both laying on the living room couch covered in three layers of blankets and blowing their noses every five minutes while Daphne had taken Scooby to his monthly pet spa appointment that usually lasted at least a couple of hours. Which left him the only one left to take care of his two sick friends. It was always the worst when Shaggy was ill since he was the one who did the majority of the cooking for them, especially when it came to making the best chicken noodle soup recipe for when someone was unwell. The taller male had been nice enough to give Fred the recipe and a few tips on how to prepare it, but right now Fred felt like a teenager cooking his first homemade meal after moving out of his parent's house. He never would have guessed that Shaggy added so many spices to his soup considering how non-overpowering it was. Adding another perfectly leveled teaspoon of pepper, Fred brushed a hand through his hair before praying to God that the others get better soon.  
An hour later the soup was done and Fred smiled relieved before spooning some into two good-sized bowls. He placed them on a small tray with some crackers and two cups of orange juice before making his way slowly to the living room. He found Shaggy and Velma in the same position they were in earlier. Them sitting in the center of the couch with Shaggy cuddled up onto Velma's lap looking miserable. Since becoming a werewolf, Shaggy had become increasingly tactile when it came to all of them, which Velma explained was an instinctual thing when it came to wolves. It was how they felt close to their pack and received comfort. Since then none of them ever denied their friend the occasional cuddle session. Honestly, Fred had always enjoyed touch so he was thrilled that he was able to hug Shaggy all he wanted. Especially when he was covered in soft fur. With a smile at his thoughts, Fred carried over the food and set it on the coffee table.  
“I hope I made it alright.” he said while passing a bowl to each of them with a spoon.  
“I'm sure it's great.” Velma replied in a nasally voice before blowing her nose once again. With a groan Shaggy slowly sat himself up from Velma's lap and took the offered bowl into his hands. His face looked unhappily at the golden both and Fred found himself shifting uneasily.  
“Did I do something wrong?” at the question Shaggy's head snapped up and before his face turned worried.  
“No! Of course not! You always cook great so I'm not worried. I'm just feeling uneasy because I can't smell anything right now.” Fred let out a sigh of relief at the news. He had forgotten how much losing his sense of smell upset his friend. Shaggy had explained that when he couldn't smell his body would go instinctively on edge since werewolves used their noses to sense danger. It was something he couldn't control which meant being sick took more toll on him than the rest of them. Often resulting in Shaggy sleeping an entire day away even after getting better.  
“Thanks Fred.” Velma chimed in before bringing the bowl up to her mouth rather than using her spoon. Fred found himself chuckling at the sight before watching Shaggy do the same thing. After a minute of no complaints, the blond figured he must have made the soup right and gave himself a pat on the back.


	9. Scooby Doo and the Witches Ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it has taken so long for me to write, but life doesn't get any less busy. Here is a long chapter to make up for it ;3

The town of Oakhaven seemed nice enough at first glance. A charming little town surrounded by brightly covered autumn leaves and friendly tourists admiring the colonial-themed attractions. Even the local food was some of the best that Scoob and I had ever eaten. It was almost something out of a holiday Hallmark movie which should have made this a great relaxing trip, but for some reason I'd had this sense of dread ever since Ben Ravencroft had invited us to join him on his yearly visit to his home town. My body screaming at me to be on guard even when there appeared to be no danger near. I'd learned to not ignore my instincts when it came to judging a situation, but at the moment I couldn't understand what had them on edge. Ben had been nothing but pleasant since we had arrived, even paying for Scoob and me to eat our fill at the town's restaurant and the rest of the townsfolk seemed equally as invited if not a little odd at times. So here I sat in the booth with my best pal eating the last of the pumpkin pies while fighting between the urge to stay as far away from a possible ghost sighting as possible and chasing after my friends to make sure they were safe. Lately, I had been trying to better control my overprotective urges so that I didn't end up smothering the gang by constantly being over their shoulders, but sometimes it was difficult. My cowardly human nature and my werewolf protective instincts were constantly at war with each other and recently I often found myself leaning more towards the latter since I had been making an effort in accepting my new wolf instincts. Crystals words to me before she had left Earth made me not want to fear my other half or label it as dangerous. After all, I'd rather protect those I care about than run from something scary.   
Scooby and I wished Jack goodnight before walking out into the night with full stomachs. Glancing up, I noticed the full moon was shining impressively bright in the clear black sky and a slight shiver ran throughout my body causing my hair to stand on end. Starting this morning I'd started taking Wolf's Bane before dark to hold off my transformation until at least everyone else was asleep. Making it even more troublesome was the fact that this was a Harvest moon, which meant a full wolf transformation. My full form was significantly larger than my normal size and made staying out of sight a lot harder. It had been the reason I almost hadn't come to Oakhaven in the first place, but Velma seemed so excited at the idea of joining her idol of this trip I hadn't had the heart to deny her request. With a sigh, I dropped my gaze from the sky and instead turned to see all the cars that were driving out of town.  
“Gee looks like everyone's leaving. Wonder if the ghost showed up?” I asked Scoob who was walking beside me with a sleepy smile. As we continued down the now-empty street the feeling of dread was once again taking over my body.  
“Like, with no one here this place is almost spooky Scoob.” I pointed out with a nervous chuckle.  
“Reah.” the other agreed with his own uneasy laughter before the sound of footsteps caused us both to pause mid-step. Then we spotted three figures walking towards us from the ally way and as they came closer I was relieved to see it was just three women. The one on the left wearing a green dress with blond-haired pigtails, the middle in a red dress with equally long black hair, and the one on the right in a violet dress with short frizzy orange hair.  
“It's just girls.” I sighed relieved.  
“Reah, girls.” Scoob happily agreed as the three walked closer.  
“Like, hi girls.” I greeted not wanting to seem rude even though my uneasy feeling was growing with each passing moment. As the three women stepped up to us they all smiled revealing sharp vampire fangs while simultaneously returning the greeting. I felt my blood run cold and my heart begins to hammer at the sight of familiar-looking fangs. So similar to the one who cursed me. Who forced me to be something I wasn't. Made people chase me down like a rabid animal. I booked it down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Hearing the sound of laughter from behind that only made my anxiety swell until I was almost tripping over myself to run faster. Not slowing down until another sound caught my attention.  
“Raggy! Raggy!” At the sound of Scooby calling my name, I finally forced myself to slow down until coming to a full stop while bending over with my hands on my knees. My breathing coming out in short gasps and my heart still running a marathon in my chest. After a moment Scooby came up to my side and I wasted no time in pulling my best friend into a hug. The familiar smell and warmth of the canine helping to calm my frantic nerves.  
“It's alright Raggy.” The Great Dane spoke softly while patting my back and only then did I feel embarrassed about how I had just overreacted. Those three hadn't smelled anything but human yet my brain still kicked into overdrive at the first sight of fangs. I found myself once again cursing Dracula and his selfishness making my life harder then it needed to be. A spark of anger burning in my chest like dull embers. Never in my life had I ever felt hatred for another person until I met him. I had always been raised to never hate others and to always treat everyone with the same courtesy I wanted for myself. The fact that Dracula made me feel such a dark emotion only made my anger at him even greater. Taking a deep breath, I let myself calm down. Holding onto those feelings was only going to hurt me in the long run. Pulling back from our embrace, I found Scooby giving me a concerned frown so I tried my best to give a smile while petting him between the ears.  
“I'm alright pal.” The other didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything as we both continued to walk towards Ben's house for a good night's rest. At least that was the plan before wicked cackling took over the air.

Once the culprits behind the witch's ghost attacks were caught, which turned out to be multiple townsfolk including Mr. McKnight and the mayor, we all headed back to Ben's place with the Hex Girls. Honestly, I was desperate to turn in for the night. My body felt uncomfortable to an almost painful degree due to my transformation behind held back for so long. It was only a matter of time before the Wolf's Bane wore off and I changed forms whether I wanted to or not. Something felt different this time though, but between the discussion and the same overwhelming feeling of dread still plaguing my mind I didn't have time to ponder why this was.   
“Shaggy.” the sound of Velma calling me snapped me out of my thoughts. “Do you still have that little shoe buckle Scooby found today?” At her question, I reached into my pocket to withdraw the buckle.  
“Like, this one? Here.” As I handed her the object she held it up to the painting on Sarah Ravencroft hanging over the fireplace before turning to Scooby.  
“Scooby can you show me exactly where you found this?”  
“Reah, I Rink so.” at the prospect of heading back out into the night I found myself groaning. My senses were starting to hurt and I couldn't think very clearly. Something was defiantly not right this full moon. Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me forward and I glanced up to find Daphne leading me out the door with the others.  
“Are you alright?” she whispered in concern and I had to think for a moment before answering.  
“I don't know.” I admitted as my feeling of dread began to grow into warning stabbing repeatedly at my brain. Danger. Danger Danger!  
“Do you need to stay?” Daphne asked knowing exactly what tonight was. The idea of walking anywhere in the state I was now sounded awful. My body was begging to transform and it was getting harder to fight it.  
“Yeah. I do.” I admitted and she gave a nod before placing a hand on my shoulder.  
“I'll let the others know. We will be back in a little bit okay?” Daphne spoke gently before stepping away and jogging to catch up with the others. Turning around I made my way back into the house and as soon as the door shut I collapsed onto the floor to my hands and knees. All my muscles hurt and all I could do was let the transformation come as soon as the Wolf's Bane wore off. I wasn't sure how long I stayed there in a fog before a giant gust of wind tore at the windows of the house. Every hair on my body stood on end and a growl worked its way up my throat at the surge of power that sizzled in the air. Forcing my body to move I dragged myself to the window only to see a sudden form of black clouds over the center of town. That's where everyone went to look for the book. My stomach dropped in fear before everything went dark.

“I shall unlock the power of the imprisoned Sarah Ravencroft! Together we shall reign supreme! “Let the evil from the past breathe again with fiery blast” Ben proclaimed as he reached his hand towards the sky.  
“No!” I shouted as the sky darkened and large gusts of wind nearly blew my friends and me off our feet.  
“Let the dark wind whip the night, to blow away the force of light! Now I summon ancient power!”  
“Ben please stop!” I begged as the wind pushed me further from the warlock, but the other ignored my plea and continued.  
“This is evils finest hour!” He finished with evil laughter before a green shot of energy fell down from the sky and bathed the author in its light.   
“No!” How could I have been so naive to have trusted this man? So blinded by my admiration of his books that I didn't even suspect him of anything. Even Fred had pointed out how odd it was for him to be so obsessed with a book. I felt used and so stupid.  
“What's the matter, Velma?” Ben smirked as I fought to walk against the wind still whipping around. “Don't like the new and improved Ben Ravencroft?”  
“Frankly, no I don't!” I growled angrily.  
“Well get used to it.” He smiled sickeningly in reply before the sound of the mayor and thorns father caught Ben's and my attention. The two were trying to run away to safety.  
“Leaving so soon? The party's just beginning!” I watched the warlock trap the two men in the old-fashioned shackles as well as the Hex Girls when they attempted to help and my heart dropped in fear. Ben had magic now. I'd read enough of the Grimness Book of Records over the last couple of years to know how dangerous magic users could be. This was very bad. I quickly turned around to find Daphne and Fred still huddled on the ground after being knocked down by the wind. I quickly made my way over to them.  
“We need to get out of here. Where are Shaggy and Scooby!”   
“Shaggy stayed at the house. I don't know where Scooby is!” At her reply, I surveyed the area to find the Great Dane was cowering beneath a wagon a few feet away.  
“Let's go!” I repeated helping the two stand. Before we could even attempt to escape though we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by a ring of fire.  
“Enough of this minor magic. It's time to summon Sarah Ravencroft.” Ben announced on the other side of the wall of flames before opening the spellbook and beginning to read. All we could do was watch as Sarah Ravencroft appeared before she and her descended began to disagree. As I watched the exchange Sarah's words when Ben failed to return the ghost to her spellbook sparked some hope. A wicken could defeat the witch and Thorn was tied up only a little ways away. We just needed to get the spellbook to her. Unfortunately, we were still trapped in a circle of flames with no way out.  
“Scooby!” I yelled as the cowering Great Dane perked up at my voice. “Get the book!” Scooby glance in the direction of the book still sitting on the ground where Ben had dropped in when he had been trapped in a sphere of magical energy. With a nod, Scooby slowly made his way past the witch who was still gloating about how she was going to cover the world in darkness. He managed to grab it before Sarah noticed and cursed a turkey to grow into a monster and commanded it to attack our canine friend.  
“Scooby, watch out!” Fred warned but it was too late. The monster bird swiped at Scooby sending the dog flying into the side of one of the puritan houses.   
“Scooby!” My chest froze in terror at the sight of Scooby being hurt. What do we do? This is all my fault. I never should have made us come here. I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks as I desperately tried to come up with a way to escape this fire and help. I dropped to my knees and started digging into the dirt, ignoring the pain from my fingertips.  
“Velma, what are you doing?” Daphne questioned her own voice choked up with tears.  
“Dirt can put out the fire.” Was the only explanation I gave while I continued to throw handfuls of dirt onto the surrounding flames. Fred and Daphne wasted no time in joining me on the ground, but as I watched the turkey monster draw closer to Scooby who still lay on the ground in pain my heart dropped. We weren't going to make it.  
“Scooby!” I desperately pleaded for my friend to get up and run like he always did. Scooby looked at me with fear before his eyes drifted back to the monster who stood above him ready to attack.  
“No.” Daphne whispered in horror as the bird lifted a talon up to attack. Only for the air to erupt in a spine chilling roar before the turkey was tackled into the building behind Scooby by a large furry blur. Then all that could be heard were the sounds of pained screeching, wet squishing noises, and crunching. The sounds caused my stomach to grow queasy. Scooby tried to stand from the ground but gave a pained whine before plopping back down. Dropping the book from his jaws. Suddenly the screeching stopped and the entire area went silent.  
“What is this?” Sarah asked floating just outside our fiery prison. As she spoke a figure emerged from the hole of the building and I was struck silent by the sight of the familiar werewolf stepping out into the moonlight. This was not Shaggy. Those red eyes held no humanity as they focused angrily on the Witch beside them. His muzzle, chest and claws soaked in crimson blood as he bared those three-inch long fangs in a snarl. He was also not wearing any clothes which only proved that something was very very wrong. My limbs felt frozen in place as the beast glanced down at Scooby who was laid out on the ground only a few inches from his feet and I only found my breath when Shaggy seemed to pay no mind to the injured canine and instead turned his attention back to Sarah Ravencroft.  
“So thou hast a guard dog. It won't make a difference. I will not be beaten!” The witch proclaimed before firing a golden blast of magic at the werewolf. Shaggy dodged all too easily before sprinting on all fours towards his attacker. The touch of hands on my shoulders finally snapped me out of my shock.  
“Velma, we need to get to Scooby.” Daphne's voice was full of panic as she threw another large handful of dirt on the now shrinking fire. Fred said nothing as he worked, but I could see his hands were shaking badly. Forcing myself to focus I joined them in finishing what we started. As soon as a path was clear we all stumbled across the town square to where Scooby laid injured. The book still beside him. Once close enough I kneeled beside him with Daphne and Fred close behind.  
“Scooby, where are you hurt?” I asked and the Great Dane whimpered as he motioned to the three large gashes across his side. With trembling hands I removed my orange sweater, revealing the red tank top underneath, and used it to cover the wound. A loud sound caused me to look over my shoulder while I kept my hold firm. Shaggy had managed to dodge every one of Sarah's attacks, but he wasn't having luck landing a hit either. She was distracted though and this was our only chance.  
“Fred, I need you to hold this on Scooby's wound and do not let up the pressure.” I instructed and he quickly took the place of my own hands with a questioning look.  
“Where are you going?” Daphne asked knowing full well that Fred was in no place to speak right now. A highly stressful situation tended to make talking hard for him and we never wanted to force him.  
“I need to get this book to Thorn. She is the only one that can read the spell to defeat Sarah Ravencroft.” I explained as I picked the old spell book up and tucked it beneath my arm. There was no way I was dropping this. Daphne's hand found my arm and she frowned unhappily.  
“Velma this is too dangerous. You could get hurt.”  
“If I don't then we won't be able to escape. Her magic is too strong.” I watched Daphne's expression pinch in concern, but she made no move to stop me as I started across the ground. Forcing myself to not look at the fight happening so close by and instead on the three musicians tied to a pole several yards away. Thankfully I was able to reach them and began trying to untie the thread holding them hostage. Once free Dusk and Luna made quick work in fleeing.  
“I'm out of here.”  
“Yeah, like those monsters are the real thing.” Thorn tried to follow her friends, but I grabbed her arm desperately.  
“Wait Thorn, you're the only one who can stop her.”  
“What can I do. I'm not a real witch, Velma.”  
“But you're part wicken. That blood flows in your veins and you're the only one that can read this spell and stop Sarah Ravencroft.”  
“What about the beast?”  
“I'll deal with him. Just focus on the witch.” Thorn still looked unconvinced, but I shoved the spellbook into her hands before she could further argue. Turning it to the right page.  
“No!” Sarah's shout grabbed our attention and I saw that she had finally noticed her book was in our hands. With a flick of her wrist, she sent a hoard of pumpkin monsters to cover Shaggy with restricting vines. He made quick work of them, but it was enough time for the witch to start flying in our direction.  
“Hurry Thorn, Read!” I ordered and the Eco goth began to read in an unsteady voice.  
“Ancient evil get the hence, only good can recompense.” the spellbook began to light in a soft blue glow. As Sarah flew closer and closer. “For the misdeeds you have done, witch return to whence you come!” As Thorn finished the spell Sarah laid her hands on the book screaming in pain before being thrown across the town square. The book began to tremble and shine brightly causing both Thorn and me to jump in surprise which had the other dropping the spellbook to the ground. It spun a few feet away before being surrounded by a dome of blue magic. The pumpkin monsters holding Shaggy began to revert back to regular vegetables.  
“Thorn, it's working.” I sighed happily as Sarah let out a frightened yell as the book began to suck her back in.  
“No! Not again!” As her screams grew Ben was released from his bubble prison right in front of Sarah and the book. Trying to crawl away before the witch grabbed his ankle.  
“No!” Ben screamed in fear.  
“I won't go back alone!” Sarah threatened as the two were forced into the book. The last sound being Ben's desperate cry for help. The air went silent until a burning branch from one of the magic blasted trees fell onto the spellbook permanently destroying it. I wanted to sigh in relief that it was over, but the sound of animalistic growling made me remember that we had another problem on our hands. Shaggy was now free and had turned his piercing gaze to Thorn and me. The pure hunger in those eyes sent a chill through my whole body. Why was this happening? I'd read that stupid Grimness book so many times but right now my mind was blank.   
The sound of clicks caused the werewolves to turn in the direction of the noise and I turned in despair at the sight of the mayor and Thorn's father being released from their shackles by Dusk and Luna. Before I could turn my attention back Shaggy was already making his way towards the four humans at an unnaturally fast pace.  
“No!” I yelled feeling my feet already moving before I could think. I couldn't let this happen. It would be all my fault. “Shaggy! Please stop!” The werewolves' ears flickered slightly, but other than that I was ignored and frustrated tears spilled over my cheeks. What do I do? How can I stop something as powerful as a werewolf? Shaggy had just about caught up to the mayor who was the slowest runner. The larger set man breathing heavily with wide eyes filled with terror. Once pounce was all it took for the werewolf to have the mayor pinned to the ground like prey. Fangs bared barely an inch from the man's face. My muscles burned in fatigue and my face burned with tears. I wasn't going to make it. Shaggy would never forgive himself if he killed someone. He would be destroyed and it was all my fault. All my fault!  
The roar of an engine cut my thoughts as the mystery machine flew past me towards where Shaggy was attacking. Breaking so fast beside him that it sent a wave of dirt into the werewolf's eyes resulting in him releasing the mayor from his claws to rub his eyes with a pained whine. Moments later Daphne pushed open the back doors of the van.  
“Everyone get in!” it took no time for the others to jump into the mystery machine before Daphne tore off away from the danger and towards Thorn and me. Once it stopped in front of us I allowed Thorn to climb in first before taking a look back at Shaggy. The other stopped wiping at his eyes and looked up in my direction with an angry snarl. Wasting no more time, I hopped into the van before it once again took off in the direction of town. I pushed through the small group in the back of the mystery machine to get near the front where Daphne was driving and Fred sat shotgun Scooby on his lap, still holding my ruined sweater to the side wound.  
“Velma, what's going on?” Daphne asked while speeding down the deserted street. I racked my brain for an answer. Trying to think if I'd read anything about werewolves losing control. Nothing was coming through and the anxious chattering of everyone in this small space wasn't helping. With a growl, I turned around and dug into our large chest behind the front seats. We had installed it shortly after learning about magical beings in case we needed protection. Finding the book I needed I took a seat with my back leaning on the chest before quickly skimming to the chapter on werewolves. Speed reading faster than I had ever done before I finally located something. My stomach tensed at the words.  
“Oh jinkies...”   
“Velma, what....” Before Daphne could finish something large landed on the top of the mystery machine causing the whole vehicle to shake and nearly rollover. The Hex Girls as well as the two males beside me all cried out in fear as I watched sharp claws drag through the ceiling as if the metal were only paper.  
“Daphne, take us to Ben's house!” I ordered while digging back into our protection chest. I needed to stall Shaggy until we got to the house. I won't let him hurt anyone. My fingers finally found the bag I was looking for and I pulled it out with a triumphant noise. More of the mystery machine's roof was peeled away like a sardine can as the werewolf's muzzle poked through. Acting quickly, I jumped up and threw the contents of the bag into his face. Shaggy let out a roar of pain, making my chest throb in guilt, before disappearing from sight. Only the sound of hard breathing to be heard.  
“What did you just do?” Thorn asked quietly as if any loud sound would doom them all.  
“I used silver dust. Just enough to cause discomfort so we can make it to Ben's house.” I watched the mayor's brows furrow at my explanation.  
“Why only use a little, why not the whole bag? Couldn't you just kill the werewolf with enough Silver?”  
“I'm not going to hurt him if I can avoid it.”   
“Why? That monster needs to be stopped!” Mr. McKnight argued, his skin still white as a sheet. I held back my first instinct to rip into the man for his harsh words. They didn't know the werewolf was Shaggy. Honestly, right now it wasn't Shaggy, but he would turn back in the morning and that was all that mattered.   
“He isn't in control right now. We just have to hold out until sunrise. Luckily everyone left town earlier so no one else is in danger.” I sighed rubbing my eyes. Never before had I felt this drained. This whole evening has been exhausting and right now that didn't look like ti would change any time soon. Right now my body was mostly running on adrenaline and who knows how long that's going to last. The shaking limbs were already settling in. As I glanced back up I found Mr. McKnight opening his mouth to say something. Luckily he didn't get to speak.  
“Velma, why Ben's house?” Daphne interrupted with a voice way too calm for what was happening, but then again that was just Daphne. Always the most level headed when it came to stressful situations. I released a grateful sigh before leaning back over the seat.  
“It's the only house I'm familiar with here. We need to get inside and reinforce the house for protection.”  
“Is there a way to ward against werewolves?” The redhead inquired skeptically.  
“Well...”  
“I have guns at my place. We can just shoot the beast. Surely you have silver bullets since you seem to be experienced with magical creatures.” Mr. McKnight finally managed to speak and I saw Daphne's face harden before I turned to level the man with a glare of my own.  
“I already told you we are not hurting him!”  
“Why would you want to protect the monster?” Mayor Corey huffed.  
“Because that's their friend.” Thorn spoke up causing me to freeze in terror and the others to look on in confusion.  
“What are you talking about?” Luna asked placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.  
“When the werewolf was attacking Mayor Corey Velma screamed Shaggy's name. That's him isn't it?” The goth's eyes found mine and a lump lodged in my throat. No one was ever supposed to know besides them. It was dangerous for others to know. Yet right now there was no way around it. Thorn had caught me red-handed and there was no lying my way out of this.  
“Yes, that's Shaggy.” I croaked passed the lump holding the Grimmness Book of Records tightly in my hands. My eyes lowered to the floor. The van went chillingly quiet for a few moments before the sound of movement and then a hand on my bare arm. Looking up I found Thorn kneeling before me was a sympathetic smile.  
“This isn't normal, is it? He doesn't normally hurt people when he changes does he?”  
“No, he would never willingly hurt anyone. It's the Blue Moon. It forces werewolves to follow their most base instincts. He has no control over himself tonight.” I explained and Thorn's grip tightened comfortingly.  
“Okay, we will follow your lead.”  
“Sally, you can't be serious! We can't just....”  
“Daddy, the werewolf is their friend. We can't just shoot him.”  
“Thorn, even if he isn't in control that's not going to change the facts that he is trying to kill us.” Dusk argued looking uncomfortable.  
“That's right. You are asking us to leave ourselves completely helpless.” Mayor Corey added and I took a deep breath to try and salvage the situation.   
“All I'm asking is for you to hide and not confront him.” The majority of the van's inhabitants didn't seem convinced, but before any arguments could be made the vehicle stopped quickly.  
“We're here.” Daphne announced as she quickly unbuckled and exited the Mystery machine. Fred following shortly after with an arm full of whining Great Dane. Knowing we had little time I turned back to the chest behind me and started digging for the objects I'd need.   
“Quickly, go inside. I'll join you in a moment.” At my instructions, the other began to climb out except for Thorn.  
“Let me help. I may not be able to use magic, but I know my way around occult.” She smiled kindly and I couldn't help returning the favor.  
“Thank you. We need silver dust and Wolf's Bane.”  
“What are we going to do with it?” Thorn asked taking a few of the small bags into her hands.  
“Put it around the doors and windows of the house. Werewolves instinctively avoid these since it can harm them so I'm hoping that it will be enough to keep Shaggy away from the house. If he's being controlled by his basic instincts right now then this should work.” I hoped so anyway. Shaggy was a powerful beast that may not back down easily. I could only pray that his more cowardly nature won out tonight. The two of us wasted no time in gathering the ingredients and booking it for the two-story home where Daphne and Fred were wrapping Scooby's wound in actual bandages in front of the fireplace. Either Ben had a first aid kit in the house or Daphne had managed to swipe on from the Mystery Machine without my knowledge, which with how overwhelmed I felt right now didn't seem impossible. After explaining my plans to the others we all, minus Scooby, started marking every entrance with Silver and Wolf's Bane. I was the first to return back into the living room and was surprised to find Scooby Doo had moved closer to the window by the back entrance. Once closer I saw that he was nuzzling against a torn piece of fabric in a painfully familiar shade of green. With further inspection, I saw other shreds of fabric from what used to be Shaggy's clothes trailing to the door as well as deep claw marks embedded into the hardwood floor. Slowly, I lowered myself down to my friend's side and rested a comforting hand on his head in between his ears.  
“It will be alright Scooby. He'll be back in the morning.”  
“Rhaggy will be Rad.” The canine replied unhappily not taking his eyes off the green fabric. I knew very well that Shaggy was going to be upset when he found out what happened. There was no way we could keep this from him even if we wanted to. All of us had promised complete honesty to each other and none of us ever wanted to break that trust. Thank goodness Shaggy had not actually hurt anyone. I never want that day to come. Ever.  
“Why don't we move to...” A loud howl outside cut off my words. I quickly stood straight and headed for the closest window that overlooked the front yard. The full moon shining in the sky gave enough light for me to see the massive werewolf prowling up the driveway. My fingers dug nervously into the window frame as I watched Shaggy lift his muzzle to smell the air. There was no way that he didn't know we were in here. Our smells were too familiar for him not to easily track. A hand suddenly placed itself on my shoulder causing me to jump before seeing it was only Daphne.  
“Do you think he still sees us as a pack?” she whispered while we both surveyed our werewolf friend as he made his way closer and closer to the house.  
“I don't know Daph.” The admittance made me feel almost nauseous. I hated not knowing anything. Ever since finding out supernatural creatures existed I'd found myself caught completely of guard almost as much as when we first started solving mysteries. There was so much more to learn about the magical world and I have barely scratched the surface even after three years. The worst thing about having little knowledge about the subject was being unable to help my friends when it came to situations like this. I felt useless and it was terrifying.  
“Velma, stop that.” Daphne's unhappy voice cut off my spiraling anxiety and I turned from the window to face my best friend.  
“Stop what?”  
“You're making that face. The one that tells me you are thinking too much and blaming yourself for something.” I took a deep breath before retorting.  
“It is my fault. If I hadn't been so blinded by meeting Ben then none of us would even be here. I put us all in danger.” Daphne was silent for a second before placing her hands on my shoulders to force my attention to her face.  
“This is not your fault. Anyone would have acted that same as you meeting someone they admired. You didn't know Ben was going to be a psycho or that Shaggy was going to feral mode tonight. If anyone should be feeling guilty it should be me. I knew Shaggy didn't feel well when we left and I still left him here alone.” The redheads eyes began to water as her words died off and I pulled her into a hug. The familiar smell of vanilla jasmine invaded my nose and I let it lull me into a false sense of safety. Logically, I was well aware that none of this was anyone's fault. It was a set of circumstances that ended horribly and there was nothing we could have done to prevent it. All we could do now was try and make things better and right now what we needed to do was make sure our friend didn't hurt anyone while in this animalistic state. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Daphne's embrace and turned back to the window to find that Shaggy was no longer in sight. Just as the rest of our group began to return to the living room.   
“We covered every door and window we came across.” Thorn informed taking a seat on one of the two couches in the room. Dusk and Luna following closely behind.  
“As did we.” Mayor Corey added as Mr. McKnight nodded beside him. Fred also signed his task's completion with a small smile.  
“Good. Now we all just have to stay in here until sunrise.” Thorn's father gave a concerned frown.  
“What should we do if the werewolf still gets in?” I turned to both Daphne and Fred for backup since I had no answer for that at the moment. Luckily the former took the subtle cry for help.  
“See if you can find anything silver lying around. If Shaggy does manage to get in and attack you then that should hold him off long enough for you to escape.” By the end of Daphne's instructions, the five Oakhaven natives were already hunting around for anything made of silver. After that, the night went eerily silent. The only sound came from the ticking of the large grandfather clock located to the right of the fireplace. We all had migrated to sitting on the two couches. Fred, Daphne, Mayor Corey, and I sat on one with Scooby on Fred's lap. While Dusk Luna, Thorn, and Mr. McKnight sat across from us on the other. After what felt like hours, but might have only been minutes, another loud howl ripped through the air causing goosebumps to break over all of our skins. Scooby used his paws to cover his eyes in fear while shaking noticeably. The fact that Shaggy was howling might actually be a good sign. Wolves howled to communicate with pack mates not to announce killer intent. As that thought left me another followed instantly. The book had said that Shaggy would be influenced by the blue moon to be completely controlled by instinct, but it never said he would completely lose himself. Shaggy instinctively saw us as his pack so that shouldn't change at all tonight. I wracked my brain for any moment where the werewolf had attacked Fred, Daphne, Scooby, or I, but nothing came to mind. In fact, Shaggy had ignored Scooby when he had been injured, easy prey, and had instead attacked Sarah Ravencroft who had been an active threat. A threat to his pack.  
“Velma?” Daphne questioned as I jumped up from my seat after my revelation.  
“We need to go outside.” I informed my friends and everyone looked at me either in confusion or like I was insane.  
“Are you crazy? That monster will kill you.” Mayor Corey argued as I started for the front door.  
“No, he won't. We are his pack.” At my words both Daphne, Fred, and Scooby's reactions turned hopeful. “The only reason he attacked you is because you are strangers to his wolf.”  
“How can you be so sure. You being his pack didn't stop him from attacking the van.” Mr. McKnight brought up, but I just continued walking.  
“That wasn't him attacking us. It was him trying to get to us. Right now he has no human comprehension. He can't see that we are safe so in his mind we are still in danger.” As I finished my hypothesis my arm was pulling the door open. A light breeze of night autumn air rushed past me just as a large beast landed in front of me. Taking up the entire doorway with his large form. My heart jumped in my chest at the sudden appearance, but I forced myself to take a deep breath. Almost immediately Shaggy's nose was buried in my throat. I could feel blood being smeared onto my skin and I wanted to throw up. I had to let him see that I was okay though and freaking out wasn't going to keep him calm. After a moment Shaggy lifted his nose and growled while looking into the house behind me.  
“Guys, come out here.” I whispered unsure if yelling would cause the werewolf to attack Thorn and the others. Footsteps sounded behind me as I stepped further out onto the driveway. I turned around to find Daphne, Fred, and Scooby all joining me outside with Shaggy quickly inspecting the rest of his pack mates. A shuddering breath passed through my lips as I watched in overwhelming relief as Shaggy seemed to accept that we were all safe. Lowering himself down to Scooby to nose at the bandages wrapped around his stomach. A gust of wind brushed past and I shuddered realizing that I was still only in a red tank top. There was no way it was safe for us to head back into Ben's home, but staying outside all night wasn't a good idea either. Not all of us had fur to protect us from the elements.  
“Let's head to the van.” I suggested walking away from the group. The others followed shortly after. Fred found a tarp to cover the hole I the Mystery Machine while Daphne and I grabbed the emergency blankets and one of the 12-hour lanterns. It was an extremely tight fit for all of us to fit, but eventually, we found a way. Scooby laid across mine and Fred's lap, Daphne cuddled up on my other side while Shaggy curled up around all of us. As I laid against the warm fur against my back the day finally caught up to me. My body completely draining of any strength it had left until it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. I knew in the morning there was going to be a hell of a lot to do, but at the moment all I wanted to do was sleep surrounded by my closest friends. Any problems remaining were future Velma's problems.


	10. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this chapter will be mostly angst. Someone commented that they would like a chapter where Shaggy was kidnapped in order to exploit his werewolf powers. I didn't have time to do a really long rescue chapter, but I managed to do a short one about the aftermath of the rescue.  
> Thank you for your patience :3

The van was silent. Not the comfortable kind that the gang was used to on long drives, but a suffocating silence that seemed to press down on all of them like a weight. Fred drove down the stretch of highway with a white-knuckled hold on the steering wheel as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded. Velma sat beside him gripping a cellphone between the fingers of her left hand while the other rested on her friend's shoulder in a similar crushing hold. Her sweater torn in multiple places with blood splattered randomly on the orange fabric. Daphne, unlike usual, was not in the front seat, but instead was kneeled in the back holding beside an equally upset Scooby with a large somewhat rusted iron key. Her expression tense and concerned as she gazed at her friend huddled near the back doors of the Mystery Machine. He was facing away from her so she could not see his expression, but the way his whole body was trembling told her all she needed to know on how the other was feeling. Shaggy was still in his werewolf form. His ears pinned back on his head so hard that it almost seemed painful. The shredded remains of what once were his clothes unable to hide the many burn marks still littering his body. A sight that made the redhead want to throw up. A heavy iron shackle (thank god it was iron) was locked around Shaggy's neck with a chain dangling down from it by about 2 feet. Matching the smaller shackles encompassing the werewolf's wrists. The most disturbing sight though was the stains of crimson fluid covering the majority of the other's body like paint. Nobody wanted to bring up what had happened an hour ago. Nobody wanted to be the first to acknowledge something so horrible had taken place to someone they loved.  
“Shaggy.” Daphne's soft voice was the first to break the festering silence. She watched her friend's body tense at the sound, but he made no move to reply.  
“Let me take those off you.” The key in her palm, the same one she'd been holding onto for the past hour and a half, burned in her palm. She wanted, no needed, to get those things off her best friend. Once again Shaggy said nothing and just continued to face the doors. Daphne bit her lip to keep herself from breaking down after such an awful week. Right now she couldn't. She needed to be strong for him. Taking a chance, the redhead scooted closer to the shaking body until only a few inches of space remained.  
“Shaggy, please, let me get those off.” her hand lifted to touch his shoulder. To feel his warmth under her hand and believe that they had actually found him. That he was safe.  
“No!” The sudden scream had them all jump in fright causing Fred to swerve the van for a moment before pulling to a stop on the side of the road. Daphne pulled back her hand as if burned as Shaggy curled up tighter into himself. Claws digging into his already wounded arms with how hard his grip was.  
“Shaggy....” she tried again only for the werewolf to suddenly shoot up and force the back doors open. Stumbling weakly out of the Mystery Machine with frantic movement. Scooby and Daphne were quick to follow while yelling their friend's name. Velma and Fred scrambled to remove their seat belts before leaping out of the van and after the other's as well. In his weakened state, Shaggy only made it a short way before collapsing onto his hands and knees on the grassy field. Shackles and chains clanging noisily at the movement. The wounds he had were made with silver. This meant they weren't healing as fast as they should be. Everything hurt. His instincts were screaming at him to get away. To find somewhere to hide. To eat something to gain his energy back and his head was killing him. Eat eat eat eateateateat Hunt!  
“Raggy!” Scooby was the first to reach his friend but stopped as the other growled at him. Something told him that it wasn't safe to be near the werewolf at the moment. No matter how much he wanted. Daphne ran up moments later panting for breath and Scooby put an arm out to stop her from going any closer. Glancing down at the Great Dane in confusion and only receiving a head shake in return. Velma and Fred joined them as Shaggy finally spoke in pained growls. As if pushing the words out was taking great effort.  
“Don't come near me.” A shiver of feeling traveled up their spines at the tone of voice. Something they four had never felt or even thought they would ever feel about their friend before. Fear. A deep survival instinct telling them that the creature in front of them was deadly and to leave as fast as possible. They all fought the crippling terror though and stayed rooted to the spot a few feet away from the still trembling werewolf.  
Shaggy could feel his control slipping more and more away as the minutes passed and it was taking whatever strength he had left to hold himself back from fully transforming. Something he hadn't let those people have the satisfaction of forcing him to do for the last seven days. He had come so close several times. When the pain had been blinding. When they threatened his pack. When they injected vile after vile of wolfsbane into his body until the thought of ever seeing the plant again made him ill. Now though, he wanted nothing more than to transform and run back to finish those humans off. To finally have meat in his belly after so long. To taste the warm bloody flesh on his tongue.  
A terrified cry left Shaggy's lips as he dug his growling claws into the earth below. Most of the time even when he wasn't in control of himself his friends were safe from him. They were his pack and his instinct to protect greatly exceeded his urges to hunt, but right now he didn't know if that would matter when his body and mind had been pushed to their limits. Right now their scents didn't calm him, they just made him hungrier.  
“You have to run. Please leave!” At the sound of Shaggy's desperate plea, the others remained conflicted. They had just found their family member after so many days of panic, worry, and despair. They didn't want to let him out of their sight, but at the same time, they realized that something was very wrong. It was dangerous to be near the werewolf right now. Velma especially understood that Shaggy's mind was overloaded right now after so much abuse. After all, she had the claw and bite marks to prove it. She understood that the other hadn't meant to and that he hadn't known it was her when he lashed out to protect himself against more pain, but it didn't change the fact that right now her friend was more like an abused animal than a person. She could see how hard Shaggy was fighting to not let himself transform fully and still his body was slowly transforming before their eyes. They didn't have much time.  
“Gang, get back to the van.” She ordered and at first it looked like they were going to argue, but a look was all it took for them to start back towards the Mystery Machine. Velma took a deep breath and slowly approached the werewolf.  
“Shaggy.” the other's ears twitched at her voice so she knew he had heard her. “I'm going to put a tracking device on you. I know we can't be near you right now, but I am not losing you again. So control yourself for just a second so I can install it please.” The last of her words took on a desperate plea. Enough that Shaggy managed to find the energy to nod and ignore the approaching body. Velma, still cautiously slowly, placed the mini transmitter in the other's hair behind his right ear. The object was made to latch onto the strands in order to not fall off. Hopefully, it would stay there. Stepping back, Velma took once last look at her best friend. His body already growing faster as Shaggy's will grew weaker.  
“It's going to be okay Shaggy. We all love you and we will be waiting for you.” She hoped the other heard her words since she didn't stick around for a reply she most likely wasn't going to get. Already running away from him to the safety of the Mystery Machine. The best thing they could do was stay safe and hope that the werewolf didn't hurt any humans. The place they were at was still fairly far in the middle of nowhere thanks to those bastards wanting to make it as hard as possible to find them. At least this meant there was more of a chance of Shaggy running into animals to feed off of rather than innocent people. Velma felt tears of frustration dripping down her face as she neared her destination. She hated what had happened to someone she held so dear. Hated the fact that he was still being hurt even after they had rescued him. Hated that he was most likely going to be hurting from this incident for many years and there was nothing that could stop it. All they could do was be there for him and make sure that something like this never happened again. Ever.

The sun was just beginning to lighten the horizon when Fred finally parked the Mystery Machine on the side of the road. Each member of the group tired beyond compare, but still unwilling to sleep when Shaggy was still not with them. Each taking turns to monitor the tracking device so they knew where the werewolf was at all times. Right now was the first time throughout the night that the blinking green dot had stopped moving for longer than a few minutes at a time. It was several miles away still thankfully deep in the woods and away from civilization. It had been close a few times and they had used several flare guns to help guide the other to stay in the forest while he wasn't in control. Now it seemed to be over. At least they hoped so. Stifling a jaw cracking yawn, Velma forced her stiff muscles to move and exit the vehicle.  
“I'll stay with the van.” Fred mumbled from the front seat looking two seconds away from passing out. Honestly, they might all have to sleep in the van once this was over.  
“Alright, Scoob you stay with Freddy okay?” Velma asked and the canine nodded before placing his head back on his front paws. Daphne followed Velma out of the Mystery Machine and gave herself a full-body stretch.  
“How far away is he?”  
“About 20 minutes.” Velma replied looking down at her handheld screen. The two began walking into the line of trees. Not saying a word to each other the entire walk and instead tried to stay awake enough to make it to their destination. When they finally stumbled onto their friend's location it was as if a huge weight dropped from their shoulders. Shaggy, still in his full wolf form, laid curled up on the ground in the entrance of a shallow cliff cave. Covered in blood and surrounded by several picked clean animal carcasses. The shackles that had previously been around his neck and wrists were nowhere to be seen and the burns that had covered the majority of his body last night were faded to a light pink. Despite the rather unsettling sight of dead prey the two women couldn't help but feel measurable relief at the sight of their friend healing and sleeping peacefully. Daphne began to move forward to wake Shaggy before Velma grabbed her arm.  
“We have to be careful. People who had been through traumatizing situations can react violently when woken abruptly. The fact that he is still in that form means he doesn't feel safe yet. We need him to realize it's us first.” Velma explained and Daphne bit her lip unhappily before nodding in agreement. The bespectacled women picked up a branch from the round and gently hit it against a nearby tree. Loud enough to see Shaggy's ears twitch at the sound. She repeated the action until the large wolf began to stir slowly. As if a switch had been flipped, as soon as his eyes opened he was jumping on all fours in a protective crouch snarling viciously. Velma and Daphne stayed immobile until they saw recognition cross their friend's face and he stopped growling. His ears pinning back confused as he surveyed the surrounding area.  
“Daphne...Velma?” He finally spoke after a few seconds and the sound of hope in his voice had the women's hearts arching horribly. Wasting no time they engulfed the werewolf in a tight hug. As much as their arms could reach on a creature much bigger than them. Shaggy didn't hesitate to return the hold. Easily dwarfing the girls with his body as they all cried. Happy that he hadn't woken up in that horrible room again.  
“We're here Shaggy. You're safe now.” Daphne whispered burying her face into the fur of the other's chest. Enjoying the sound of his heartbeat letting them know that he was alive and that he was here. They all knew that there were things that needed to be said. Apologies that needed to be made. Trauma that needed to be dealt with, but right now that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were back together. They needed this moment and they weren't in a hurry for it to end. They all agreed that this was never going repeat. No one would ever separate them again and if they tried then there would be hell to pay.


End file.
